Ghosts in the Machine
by Carth
Summary: When the Lyoko Warriors vanish suddenly, the world crumbles under XANA's might...and only the survivors of Kadic Academy have the knowledge and power to make things right again. Winner of The Xana's Lair Carthage Award for Best Action Fanfic!
1. They Won't Find You Here

Is Carth alive? Yes, yes in fact, she's alive! I know my last two attempts to write a fic sort of…died, but I took special precautions to make sure this one would not! See, I started writing it in November, and have almost six chapters finished already! So once I'm past the fourth-chapter curse I'm sure to finish the rest of it!

Anyway, I hope you like my story. Things happen in it. Happy Valentine's Day.

**Notes:** I hope you can figure out this is an AU. Nothing else should surprise you, then. These box things ([]) denote that English is being spoken instead of French. Various chapters will contain scenes and lines from CL episodes for purposes of atmosphere, and while I currently don't know how to denote them, I would like to make clear that any passages you recognize are very not mine and absolutely Moonscoop's. Also, I don't own CL as a whole.

* * *

**Prologue**

_"Hey, Einstein! Watcha doin'?" _

_"Mmm. Stuff." _

_"Typical Einstein, always so mysterious. What kind of stuff? Homework stuff? Materialization stuff? Dirty stuff?" _

_"Well, if you have to know, I was working on Aelita's materialization earlier, but I hit a stumbling block. I'll take care of it tomorrow, but for now I'm just exploring the code of the supercalculator." _

_"Mhm." _

_"Right now I'm taking a look at the mechanics of the Return to the Past. I wouldn't dare change a letter of them, but look at how complex they are…" _

_"Complex? More like complete gibberish! But you're a genius, you have to understand this. I wouldn't doubt that you could magic up something even better, like a Return to the Future! That would be awesome. I wouldn't mind being eighteen for a day." _

_"Odd, I can do a lot of things with a keyboard, but I can't do everything. This isn't as easy as flipping a switch back and forth! It would take me years to code anything that huge, considering it was even possible with the Return to the Past to work off of, which is just as well because I don't think we're equipped to deal with the temporal repercussions of such a thing. What I'm really trying to do, right here and right now, is figure out what exactly happens to us when we're going back in time." _

_"But why? Why does it matter? XANA attacks, we stop him, you push a button, we go back, it never happened. We've been doing that since last November and nothing's gone wrong so far." _

_"But doesn't it interest you at all? Leading scientists always assert backwards time travel is impossible, and yet this computer can do it to an extent! But why do only those who've entered Lyoko retain their memories? Why can we only travel back over very short periods? And why does anyone that's died remain dead?" _

_"You're asking me like I have the answers." _

_"I'm thinking out loud, Odd! And by the way, you're wrong in your wording. If we can remember it, it definitely didn't not happen. Then the question is, what happened to everyone else's memories? What happened to that whole timeline?" _

_"Again, Jeremie, why does it matter?" _

_"…I hate to admit it, but now that I think about it, you're right. It hasn't had any effect on us yet, and Aelita's materialization is more important right now. Besides, this is as far as I can go. Whoever created the supercalculator, they locked this up tight." _

_"Who do you think created the supercalculator?" _

_"I can't even begin to guess. Someone crazy…but a genius, definitely a genius." _

_"Hey, uh, I better get going. I promised Ulrich and Yumi I'd help them decorate for prom, and I figure I better get over there before Sissi decides to help them in her own special way." _

_"Help? Is that what she's calling it now? Hah! Tell them I'm coming later…I just want to take some time to talk to Aelita. I haven't said anything to her all day." _

_"Oh, should I leave you_ alone, _then?" _

_"Shut up! Just say hi to them for me."

* * *

_

**Ghosts in the Machine**  
A Code Lyoko Fanfiction  
by Carth

* * *

**Chapter One  
They Won't Find You Here**

It was a beautiful day at Avenshire Academy.

The secondary school was far enough away from even the outskirts of Dublin not to be affected by any of its urban atmosphere. If ever there was a picture of rural, wild Ireland in the mind's eye, even in the midst of a bitter chill, it could be found in the flat blue sky, only sparingly strewn with thin lines of clouds, and the lush green hills, which shielded the sudden flatness of the school grounds from the fierce November winds. Even the school building, a tall, spired stone work like an overlarge cathedral, would only attract notice in the way it seemed to be a part of the natural landscape, as if it had once been as small as the trees that surrounded it, and had grown right out of the ground into its current state.

The one lonely road that lead out of Avenshire's valley was not usually very well-traveled, especially not in the middle of a Saturday, but the military caravans didn't have any reason to keep this pretext. There were forty-five of them at the school gatekeeper's last count, all idling in single-file, and at the rate they were coming another twenty could arrive by nightfall. They were large, bulbous creatures, like heavily armored buses, crisp except where they were punctured by large dents. There were no windows on them, except in the cab, where a driver in camouflage fatigues could be seen sitting and looking straight ahead, with one hand on the wheel and the other on his FAMAS rifle. If any noise could be heard in the cargo holds, it was drowned out by the sound of forty-five thunderous engines. The noise was not as old as the hills or the school, but had existed for such a time that nature had swallowed it as a part of itself, just as it had the old building.

The caravans drew a winding black line to the parking lot, which, along with a gymnasium and a dormitory, framed the school's still, grassy quad. There was only one car in the parking lot, a lone caravan parked right in the middle, but the lot was far from empty. Large white canopies, which sheltered rows of cheap folding tables, covered almost all of the other spaces. There were large white signs fixed to every canopy, which each had messages written in French and English. "**INSCRIPTION**/REGISTRATION," read the sign to the left of the caravan, and "**SOINS MÉDICAUX**/MEDICAL AID" read the sign to the right.

A large crowd of people stood under the tents. Most of them were wearing jeans and T-shirts, a select few under large red smocks, and were mumbling nervously among themselves in voices too low to assert themselves over the caravan engines. A few among them were dressed in religious garb. There were two fairly young men, who were dressed in priests' cloaks, and about twenty middle-aged women in sweaters, long skirts, and religious medals. A much smaller crowd stood right behind the back of the caravan, which was sealed with two black metal doors. Most of this crowd wore scrubs and carried medical equipment, but four of the men, who stood in front of the aid workers, were dressed like the bus drivers, the only difference being the Irish military insignia on their caps. Another man, dressed in black, stood in the middle. He had "UN" emblazoned in white on his jacket, and he was the only one in the parking lot that was smiling.

The four Irish military men had their slender Steyr AUG rifles pointed right at the cabin doors. Some of the medical staff looked a bit unnerved by the weaponry, but they didn't dare say anything. This was, after all, standard procedure, something they'd already done five times that day.

As the noise of the engine died, the caravan driver opened his door and jumped out of the cab, rifle in hand. He walked silently past all the crowds, including the four men with the guns, and approached the metal doors. He pulled a key off of his belt and, with care and precision, undid one bolt after another. The crowds all looked up at the noise, but waited in silence until the last lock was undone and the man had pulled the doors open.

The man in the UN jacket stepped forward from the rest. As he yelled "_Bonjour_!" into the cabin, smiles flew onto the faces of all but the military men.

There were forty people, all civilians, crammed in the cabin of the caravan. Most of them were sitting on benches constructed in two rows, but as there was only so much room on these, several were sitting in the aisle between the two rows, and one woman lay across the front of both the aisles. They were old and young, male and female, rich and poor. There were two tiny babies on a mother's lap, a wizened old couple, one large family with six children, and a lone man staring at the wall. They were sitting on piles of suitcases, and most of them were wearing multiple coats under multiple blankets, which made them all look like small cocoons. None of them spoke – they were either squinting against the sudden brightness or staring straight ahead, shocked that they could see the light at all.

"Sorry for the light," the UN man continued in Irish-accented French. "But look at it this way. If you can see the light, the darkness is over. Yes, you're here! Welcome to Avenshire Academy, just outside of Dublin, Ireland!"

Several sets of eyes went wide in the cabin. A few of them started whispering among themselves. The UN man caught a few snatches of the conversation. "Ireland? How did we get to Ireland?" "They never told us we went on a boat!" "We're staying in a school?" "Look at the sky! And the grass…the grass is still here!"

"Yes, you're in Ireland! I wouldn't lie to you." No one laughed, so the UN man went on. He motioned toward the crowds by the tents. "These gracious sisters of the Sacred Heart, as well as their faculty and students, have opened their campus to shelter and accommodate you until such a time as more permanent housing can be located." Three of the sisters nearby waved, even though, with the metal doors open, none of the people in the cabin could see them. "There is more than enough room for you in the building–"

Everyone's eyes had grown wider and wider as the man's words had registered in their heads, and now there was a loud shout as many of the people in the cabin stood and cheered. Men kissed their wives, mothers hugged their children, and old men shook their heads and smiled. Those that did not get up sat in motionless, subdued silence, obscured by their blankets and coats.

"Yes, yes…so, the staff will register you and help you get comfortable." His voice grew more and more grave as he continued to speak. "Good luck, and a good night's rest to you. You're safe now. They won't find you here."

The UN man stepped away from the doorway, right to a waiting muffin and bottle of water – his job was over until the next caravan was allowed in. A large man in a white T-shirt and a red smock replaced him immediately. Far from the UN man's clipped tone, he spoke with a heavy Jamaican accent and gestured as he talked. "Alright, everyone get in groups. If you are with someone, families, friends, get out and get to them now. No pushing, I see you pushing, you'll all get out!"

People did, of course, push anyway in their haste to leave the cramped cabin. When they had all gotten out, they were screened and patted down by the military men, a process that took almost an hour. Once that was over, they lined up by their chosen groups, amounting to about fifteen clumps in all. The Jamaican man stood in front of them then, still yelling. "Everyone good?"

There were some muttered answers. "Alright!" he said in response. "Time to go!" He waved the line forward to the first tent, which was staffed by several men and women. Three of them were the middle-aged, smiling sisters, while the rest were bored-looking teachers. The tent was flanked on either side by Irish military men. The first seven groups were diverted to different staff members, while the rest waited in their line, dropping their bags and chattering excitedly among themselves.

The first group of the seven, the only one in the line that had been silent since the cabin doors opened, was sent to the station furthest down the row. This station was staffed by one of the bored teachers, a ginger-haired man in his twenties who was not wearing a red smock. When he heard footsteps approaching, he looked up from his silver laptop to see two indistinct piles of cloth. He knew that the taller one was male, as he had a grey beard, and could hazard a guess that the shorter, long-haired one was a girl of about Avenshire age. The man was wearing two coats, three hats, and a tightly-wound scarf. He toted two suitcases and a backpack. The girl by his side also had a backpack and a suitcase, and wore one coat, two hats, and a scarf that was tied around her mouth.

The man gulped, and hesitated a moment before starting his conversation. "Uhm…" He moved his finger around the mousepad of his laptop. "_Be-on-venue ah Avenshire_," he fumbled, looking right at his screen. "_Comb-o…tappletoo_?"

[It's alright, don't hurt yourself,] the man said in flawlessly accented English. [I'm Jean-Pierre Delmas, and this is my daughter, Élisabeth.] He put a hand on the shoulder of the girl by his side. She had dropped her suitcase, and was looking down at her arms, which were folded across her chest. She muttered "Sissi" from behind her scarf, but not with any volume or intent to be heard.

[Oh!] The man looked up, visibly relieved. [Cripes, you're the first people I've 'ad all day that can speak a decent bit of English. 'Ad this one old lady that kept trying, failed miserably of course…]

"Maybe this would be a better conversation in French," Jean-Pierre Delmas continued, catching the man off-guard again. [It's been a long journey, and we would like to get inside.]

[Right, right, right…] The man looked back down at his computer, and tapped away. [Delmas, Delmas…father and daughter…ah, where are you in from?]

[Boulogne-Billancourt.]

The man's eyes widened. [Billancourt? Bloody hell, that's the first I've heard that today.] He hesitated. [Any documentation survived?]

[I have a French driver's license, and her birth certificate.] Mr. Delmas fished them out of his wallet as he talked – this was not the first time he had had to produce them.

[Alright…] The man took the documents, typed some information on his computer, and then returned them. [Right then. Your number is 404-7, and hers is 404-8…] He fished some papers out of a nearby printer and gave them to them. [Remember them, because you'll need them. You're a family, so you've been placed in a classroom on the Language level, Room 404. The sheets have all the instructions you need…] The man started suddenly. [Wait, did you say your name was Delmas?]

Mr. Delmas didn't answer, but both his and his daughter's faces darkened. The man did not notice, and went on. [You're that guy from that-that school! What's it called, the one on the telly...E-something. With the b-]

Mr. Delmas glared daggers at the man, stopping him mid-sentence. Despite this, he calmly folded his identification paper and placed it in his pocket. [Thank you for your help, sir. My daughter and I will find our own way upstairs.]

Before the red-haired man could say anything else to them, Mr. Delmas grabbed Sissi's shoulder and escorted her away. They joined the groups moving up the quad path toward the school building, shuffling with the weight of their suitcases.

"The nerve," Mr. Delmas muttered to himself as he walked. "The next time I see one of those nuns…oh, his name better be on this paper…"

He grunted in exasperation, took a breath to calm himself, and turned to his daughter. She had hardly spoken all day, not since the caravan had entered the queue to enter the school that morning. His eyes and grip softened, weakened by concern.

"It's a relief to be out of the caravan, isn't it?" he said, trying to reassure her. "Just a few more steps, a few flights of stairs, and we'll have a room, and some warm beds to sleep in."

"_A room, a bed_," Sissi said back. She was muffled by her scarf, but still had a mocking tone in her voice. "That's what you say every time. They never have beds. It's always blankets on the floor."

It occurred to Mr. Delmas that a blanket _had _been what he meant by a bed, but he didn't want to tell his daughter. "It's a lot nicer here than it was at the public shelters, Sissi. Maybe they'll have beds for us. I wouldn't put it past the nuns."

Sissi didn't answer him, or even react to him. She had pulled her scarf away from her face, and was glaring across the quad at the squat dormitory building. There were no students near the caravans, but there were boarders, all about Sissi's age, leaning out of almost every window and spilling out the front door. They were all lolling in their pajamas, anything from shirts and sweats to boys wearing only underwear. Most of them were gaping, whether at the caravan arrivals or at the line of people filing into their school.

"I wonder what the students are going to do now that we're here," Mr. Delmas said, perhaps a bit too loudly. Sissi started and shivered, but didn't respond. Instead, she wrested her way out of her father's grip, leaving her bags behind her, and started running toward the dormitory.

"What? What is it?" she yelled across the field to the students. "WHAT IS IT? WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT?"

"SISSI!" Mr. Delmas was too far away to see their reactions, but he wasn't standing still – he was running up after her, panting from the effort. Before Sissi could say anything else, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her off the grass, back to the path, and toward the school, leaving their luggage behind. They stopped underneath the awning that led into the front hall, as the exhausted Mr. Delmas could not take the squirming, screaming girl any further.

"Sissi," he said, the harsh disciplinarian slipping into his voice. "Sissi, what was that?"

"Let me go – let me go!" Sissi shoved her elbow into her father's face, a blow he just narrowly avoided. "Don't make me stay here! I want to go home! I want to go home!"

Mr. Delmas pressed his own arms against his daughter's shoulders as hard as he could, immobilizing her against a column. "Elisabeth, calm down!" He put extra emphasis on the hated name. Sissi was shocked into silence – she stopped moving, though she still looked indignant. "I know you're tired, I'm tired, we're all tired–"

"They were _looking _at me," Sissi said, with a world of hurt in her voice. "Why do they still have a school? Why did we have to leave, and not them?" She paused, taking in the look of blank horror on her father's face. "Why, Daddy?"

Mr. Delmas was silent for several seconds, long enough for his face to soften. By the time he spoke, he looked very tired, and quite powerless. "Sissi, I don't…" He shook his head, and took a different direction. "I know you're upset, and those children weren't being the most polite, but you can't have outbursts at these people just because you're angry. They're here to help us. We're very lucky, you know. They'll feed us, give us a roof over our heads…"

"I don't want to be lucky," Sissi said, shoving one of her father's hands away. "I want to go home."

Mr. Delmas's face became grave. "If you're talking about Kadic," he said, almost at a mumble as if she couldn't hear him, "There's…there's nothing we can do. Kadic can't be our home anymore. But we can find a new home here, or somewhere else safe. We have to move forward, Sissi. It'll all be for the best."

Sissi didn't say anything, but she didn't struggle, either. Mr. Delmas clapped his hand back on her shoulder, and looked down to her level, trying his hardest to smile. "Come on. Let's go get the bags."

Sissi looked to the side, up at the school, as if contemplating her answer. Mr. Delmas didn't give her the time to have a choice. He took her hand and took her back to where the bags lay, right in front of the dormitory, which looked empty and still, as all the students had been ordered inside.

By the time they got back to the awning, another caravan had been opened, and they could hear the UN man's voice echoing across the flat campus. "Good luck, and a good night's rest to you. You're safe now. They won't find you here."

* * *

Mysterious mysteries!

- Carth


	2. Welcome Home

Hello again! First off, thank you so, so much for all the reviews and kind words! I am still working on this to be sure, except that this is chapter two and I am currently on Chapter 6. I do hope you still like the story. Things will continue to happen until it is finished.

Oh, I should mention, story updates will be on Saturdays until such a time as I run out of chapters. From there, chapters will be released as they are finished.

* * *

**Chapter Two  
Welcome Home**

The Delmases entered the two open front doors and walked in silence through the empty main hall, following the signs to the stairs. The old school had at one point been a much older church, and the worship area, which was of the old, pew-less sort, had been left untouched except to add desks, chairs, and other necessary items, as well as doors to the classrooms, stairs, and other areas. The windows, many of which were stained glass, were set high on the stone walls, the pillars curved onto the ground in a Gothic fashion, and there were several altars set into small alcoves. Mr. Delmas marveled aloud at the intricacy of the architecture, but Sissi only took one quick glance around before looking down at the ground.

The white cement stairs were far flatter and plainer, as was the fourth-floor hallway, which was plain white brick with wooden doors set into both sides. The hall itself was empty, but low mutterings could be heard behind the thin doors. It didn't take long for Mr. Delmas and Sissi to reach Room 404. Mr. Delmas dropped his bags, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"It's open!" a rough man's voice called out. Sissi looked uncertainly at her father. Mr. Delmas looked somewhat baffled himself, but opened the door anyway.

The classroom was middling-large, perhaps three-fourths the size of a Kadic classroom, with large windows set into the outside-facing side. It had once been a Spanish classroom, and colorful diagrams and language charts still hung on the walls, though the room was now devoid of tables and chairs. Instead, ten starch-white mattresses covered nearly every inch of the floor. Four of them had pillows, blankets and sheets stacked neatly at the foot, but six of them were already made up – some neat and tucked-in, others a complete mess.

"Well, look at that, two more people!" the same man's voice called out, leading Mr. Delmas and Sissi to take a closer look at the occupied beds. They were gathered in a group together, separate from the unmade ones. A smiling man with a scruffy blond goatee sat at the foot of one mattress, looking right up at their bemused faces. "Room 404, right?"

Mr. Delmas looked at his daughter, then at the smiling man. "Yes, that's what it says on the door."

"Yes, I know that, I last saw it three hours ago," the man continued with just a hint of playful derision. He stood up, and held out his hand. "Ma-"

Before he could continue, he was bowled over by three lavender-haired little girls, not a one of them over the age of ten. With this man out of the way, they ran to the new arrivals, leaving dusty footprints on the fresh mattresses, and ambushed them.

"Hi!" The oldest, who was nine or ten and had hair down to her waist, boldly approached Mr. Delmas. "What's your name? Where are you from? I like your beard. It looks like a big dead plant eating your face."

"Your beds are over there!" the next, who was six or seven and had a boyish haircut, yelled while pointing at the empty mattresses. "They're really soft! I rolled on them myself!"

"No, no, I want her to sleep in my bed!" the youngest, who was about four and struggling past a lisp, whined as she hugged Sissi's kneecaps, which at that point were the only things in Sissi's line of sight. "I like you. I've got a bunny, so you won't get lonely."

"Uh…" Sissi looked from the little girl's round face up at her father, and then back again. She was so used to seeing children at a distance, she didn't know how to react to this one living with her – let alone _speaking _with her. "That…that's…"

"Magali! Lucille! Céline! Let them get in the door!" This time the male voice was softer and more fatherly. At the sound of it, the girls disloged themselves from the Delmases with loud goodbyes. They ran back to their mattress cluster, where another man, somewhat older than the other, and a lavender-haired woman were sitting on the edge of two mattresses pressed together. The little girls surrounded them and started chattering excitedly over each other, speaking far too quickly for any of them to be understood.

The rough-voiced man had recovered from his fall. He stood up and walked over to Mr. Delmas. "Isn't it beautiful, their energy?" he said, looking back at the girls. "They haven't stopped moving since we got out of the caravan. Not that this is news to you!" He laughed. Sissi did not, though Mr. Delmas couldn't help but crack a smile. "Matthieu Mermond," the man continued, holding out his hand. "Fantastic to meet you."

"Oh, why, thank you, Mr. Mermond," Mr. Delmas took the offered hand, though his handshake was not very firm.

"Hey, Mr. Mermond is my brother," he said, inclining his head toward the older man. "Call me Matthieu, or Matt if that suits you. That's my brother over there, his wife, Sandrine…" He inclined his head toward the couple, who looked rather busy. "And my nieces," he finished, with pride in his voice.

"Jean-Pierre Delmas," Mr. Delmas picked up. "And this is my daughter, Sissi."

"Yes, I see!" Matthieu clapped a hand on Sissi's shoulder. "A new playmate for the girls!" Sissi froze under his grip, but he just smiled and went on. "We're over here. You can take two of these mattresses and move wherever you want. And after that we'll have room for two more people…it'll get cozy, but anything is better than those caravans!"

"Absolutely," Mr. Delmas said, with just a touch of urgency. "Thank you for your welcome, Matthieu. Now, Sissi and I should get acquainted with our living space…these bags are fairly heavy."

"Of course!" Matthieu said, though he did not make any move to leave. "Like I said, just take any of the mattresses! And if you have any questions, concerns, anything, just ask me."

Mr. Delmas had already taken his daughter over to a set of mattresses close to the Mermond block. They finally set their suitcases and backpacks to rest on the empty space near the mattresses, and immediately got to shedding layers of coats and hats. Both of them were wearing two sweaters; Mr. Delmas only took off one, while Sissi shed both, revealing a grey, shapeless T-shirt underneath.

Sissi sat down on her unmade mattress, still holding her sweater, staring at her suitcase for lack of anything to say. Mr. Delmas rubbed his hand curiously across his hair and beard. "Oh my, it's about time I had a haircut. I probably look just as scruffy as Franz Hopper."

"Who?" Sissi said, turning to face her father.

"Oh, just an old tea-" He saw his daughter's face cloud over, and stopped himself. "Nobody," he finished.

Sissi looked away again. Her hands were tense on her sweater, as though at any moment she might rip it in half. Finally, she threw the sweater at her suitcase with a low whine and flopped down onto the mattress.

"Ah…" Mr. Delmas tried to cover up his surprise. "Good idea, Sissi. Some sleep would do us both some good. But don't you want a blanket?"

"No," Sissi groaned into the mattress.

"Perhaps a pillow?"

"Leave me alone!" Sissi flipped over to avoid having to look at her father and shut her eyes. Try as she might, and tired as she was, she couldn't manage to fall asleep. Face-first in the mattress, she could still hear what was going on around her. Mr. Mermond and his wife were muttering to each other in low voices. Matthieu was humming to himself. Mr. Delmas was rummaging through his suitcase, making a noise like papers shuffling.

"Your daughter is very quiet," she heard Matthieu say after some time. "All that time in the caravans doesn't do children any good at all. It's not something that they should ever have to do."

"Oh, she's not usually…she's very, very tired," Mr. Delmas said. "Once she's rested she'll be far more, er, agreeable."

"Of course, of course! It must be different for everyone. I've gotten more and more energy just from seeing the sun again, and breathing this country air."

"I heard you say something about a haircut," another man's voice piped in – Mr. Mermond had finally joined the conversation. "Martha should be back in a few minutes; she'll give you all the supplies you need for that."

"That sounds reasonable – and it is a delight to meet you, Mr. Mermond." Sissi heard boards creaking as Mr. Delmas walked over to the Mermonds. "And you, Sandrine–" There was a pause. "Who is this 'Martha'? Is she a sister?"

"No. The sisters are in the gym and the other open spaces, I think," Matthieu said. "Martha's a student. Sixth-year prefect. They've got them helping out, bringing food and supplies, reading announcements, the like."

"They've got _students_ working in here?" Mr. Delmas said with surprise. He went on from there, but Sissi was distracted from the adults' conversation by a sudden hot, sticky breath on her face. She opened one eye to find Magali, Lucille, and Céline kneeling by her side, staring curiously at her. Céline was now holding a dusty, ragged bunny toy.

"Good going! You woke her up!" Magali shoved her sister. "Now she's going to yell at us! Big people don't like it when you bother them."

"But if she's got a dad, then she's still a kid." Lucille leaned in ever closer to Sissi, who shut her eyes against her. "Hey, hey! Why are you asleep? It's still light out."

"Mmm," Sissi said.

"If you sleep all day, then you're going to be up all night." Magali's voice went low, as though she were giving Sissi a grave warning. "Then your dad's going to be _really _mad at you."

"Girls, stop bothering her," Sandrine called over. None of the girls paid any attention.

Céline looked down at her bunny, then back up at Sissi. She smiled, then put the bunny on Sissi's head. "You stay there," she said to the bunny, sounding stern. "Be good, or you're gonna go back in the car and they'll take you far, far away, and you'll never, never come back. Not never!"

Magali and Lucille giggled. Sissi's eyes flew open, and she stared at them for a moment, looking confused. She took the bunny off her head and held it in her hands, staring at its button eyes.

"Her name is Maria," Céline said, with an air of importance. "She's my best friend."

"You can't be friends with a dumb rabbit," Lucille said, whacking her sister on the arm.

"She's not _dumb_!" Céline whacked her sister back. "You're dumb."

"Well, you're dumber than dumb!"

"You're dumberest dumber-dumb!"

They slapped each other without actually doing much damage. Sissi, who wasn't paying much attention to this exchange, held the bunny back out to Céline without looking at her. "Here. You take her. I don't need her."

"But-" Sissi threw the bunny back to Céline before she could finish, and turned away from the girls. Behind her, she could hear Magali say, "Come on, let's go over here. She's no fun."

Sissi tried again to shut her eyes and ears, but only lay still for a minute before she shivered – it was colder than she had thought. Reluctantly, she sat up to reach the blanket at the foot of the mattress. As she did, the door of the classroom opened, and a tall, thin, red-haired girl stepped in. She was holding a pamphlet in one hand, two plastic bags in the other, and a cloth bag over her shoulder. In any other clothing Sissi might have thought she was in her twenties, but the Avenshire uniform, which consisted of a white blouse, a white sweater vest, and a blue knee-length skirt, gave her away as a student. She had a metallic badge pinned to her sweater vest.

Her eyes went right to Sissi and Mr. Delmas – she had been expecting to see them. "Hello!" she said with a heavy Irish accent. "Jean-Pierre Delmas? Elisabeth Delmas?"

[Yes, that would be us,] Mr. Delmas had been sitting at the edge of the Mermond mattresses with that family, who were now all gaping at the gibberish he had just produced. He rose and turned to face the girl. Sissi, realizing that the conversation now shut her out, began covering herself with her blanket. [I'm Jean-Pierre. And you're Martha?]

[Oh, yes!] Martha's face lit up. [Martha Flynn. You don't know how relieved I am that you speak English. We're a bit short on bilinguals.]

[I could tell. That's not the first time today I've gotten that reaction,] Mr. Delmas said. [My daughter is – oh, I thought she was up a second ago. I apologize. It's been a long journey.]

[Of course, we understand.]

[Anyway, I've heard all about you from the Mermonds. I understand you've got scissors on you?]

[Well, yes, somewhere in these bags. But, first things first. These are some timetables…we've tried to put people on shifts for meals and showers, and because you got here so early you've got reasonable timeslots.]

Sissi couldn't understand a word that Martha was saying, but her dull, toneless voice was something like a lullaby – it drifted in her ears, growing fainter and fainter as she drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. [Breakfast at seven, lunch at noon, supper at twenty-hundred. Showers at six and twenty-one-hundred. On the bulletin board outside you can find postings of other events we might have going so you don't have to sit bored in your rooms all day, and also some house rules. The bags have basic supplies, toiletries, the like, and if you need more you can always come to me for refills. Toilets are at the end of the hall, showers are in Rooms 422 and 424…]

* * *

"_Cuanta vida hay en un deja vu, lo vivido te vuelve y no pareces tú…y me pueden las ganas, de esta noche no escapas…"_

Sissi didn't waste any time waking up. Her eyes flew open the second she could realize that someone was humming nearby. She jerked her head backward, hit it against the wall, and slid back again, wincing.

She noticed several things immediately. She was on the floor, not in her bed, and she was only half-covered by her blanket. After a second's dazed, futile wondering – why was she on a tile floor, and not her dormitory carpet? – she completed the transition to conscious from subconscious and remembered where she was. She moaned loudly and indignantly. A few seconds later, she did it again. A third time, it disintegrated into a wail.

At about that point, she realized that no one was reacting to her. Mightily confused, she sat up, pulling the blanket up over her shoulders. She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but night had fallen over Room 404. The overhead fluorescent lights were out, but by the dim light of the full moon she could see that her father and the Mermonds were gone. Their bags were all there, so she couldn't think they had abandoned her, but she had no idea where they could have gone.

This left her alone in the room with her thoughts – and her thoughts were the last thing she wanted with her. She climbed back onto her mattress, thinking that, if she was reduced to nothing else, she should get as much sleep as she could beat out of herself.

"¿Estás bien?" an unfamiliar woman's voice called from behind her.

Sissi groaned at the sound of another language she couldn't understand. She looked up in the direction of the voice. "What, what do you want?" she snarled.

"¿Estás bien?" the woman said again. She was sitting across the room from Sissi, and wasn't making any moves to join her. She had long, disheveled dark hair and black eyes that glittered in the moonlight. There were no bags by her mattress besides her plastic bag of amenities; the only thing she appeared to own was the frayed brown dress she was wearing. She was pregnant, and the loose garment tightened over her bulging stomach. She had a look that took a bit from being sad, confused, and concerned. Sissi felt rage rising in her chest just from looking at her.

"Wow," she said, just to test her. She did not respond. In exasperation, her thoughts flew right out of her mouth. "Another new person I have to pretend to be polite to. That's how many people, now? Daddy and I, that's two, those other people make eight, and then you? Nine. No, ten," she revised, taking a quick look at the woman's stomach. "Ten people, all in one room? They've already taken away everything else, they may as well take my privacy while they're at it! Are you happy? Are you happy you're in _my_ room and I just can't kick you out? I bet you are. So," she finished, using all the Spanish she could muster from the five words she knew, "No! No bien, no bien, no bien!"

"Ah." The woman took a moment to study her. She now looked surprised, and still very sad. "Tú estás muy molesta. Yo también, pero todaviá te puedo ayudar." She looked down at her hand, and pointed at herself. "Luisa," she said.

"And what does that mean?" Sissi deadpanned.

"Luisa," she repeated, pointing harder. "Mi nombre es Luisa. N-nname. Name."

"Oh." Clarification was an unexpected and unwanted comfort – Sissi had wanted to stay angry at her. "Uh…" She pointed to herself. "Sissi."

"Sissi," Luisa repeated, pronouncing the i's as long e's. "Bastante."

Sissi was debating whether or not to answer when the classroom door swung open, letting in a shaft of light from the hallway. "Luisa?" Sissi could hear Sandrine say.

"Ah, hola!" Luisa tried to stand, with some difficulty. Magali, Lucille, and Celine came barreling in the door first, nearly knocking Luisa over again, and made a beeline for Sissi. Matthieu, Mr. Mermond, Sandrine, and Mr. Delmas ambled in somewhat more slowly. They were each holding two (or three, in Matthieu's case) plates of something hot and steaming.

The Mermonds set their plates down in the clear middle area in front of the door. Sandrine stood again to help Luisa over to the center. Mr. Delmas waited in the doorway. "Should we keep the lights off?" he said. "If Sissi is still asleep…"

"She's awake!" Lucille yelled, prompting hushes from her parents. She climbed onto Sissi's mattress and whispered, so the adults couldn't hear, "If you're not awake, I'm going to smack you." Sissi felt the mattress sag as Magali and Céline climbed on after their sister.

"Sissi!" Mr. Delmas inclined his head toward the door. Sandrine caught his drift – when he left to put his plates down, she flipped the switch, sending blinding light into everyone's faces. When Sissi could see again, her father was by her side. "It's nice to see you're up; you've been out for hours. It's practically the middle of the night. I brought you some dinner, we – Sissi, what is it?"

Sissi had been staring open-mouthed at her father's face since she had been able to get a good look at him. For the first time since before she could remember, her father was completely clean-shaven. "Your beard! What – it's gone!"

"Oh, yes," Mr. Delmas said, rubbing his chin, which was covered in red cuts. "It was easier than trying to maintain it in this situation."

"Yup, the dead plant is history!" Magali cut in triumphantly. "But it looks like it was chewing on your chin. Oh – coming, Mom!" Sandrine had called the girls away from the Delmases; they bounded off the mattress and joined their family and Luisa in the space in the middle of the room.

"We were going to bring it for you later," Mr. Delmas continued, "But the dining area was full. Come on." He began to stand up.

"It's okay," Sissi said. "I'm not hungry."

Mr. Delmas frowned. "Elisabeth, you haven't eaten anything in over twenty-four hours. If they give you food, you're going to take it. Do you understand me?"

"Can I eat it later?"

"No."

"Can I eat it over here?"

"What's the matter with eating with Luisa and the Mermonds? They're not going to hurt you."

"That's what you think."

"Sissi, I can't keep making excuses for you. You're coming to eat with us."

"What are you going to do if I don't? Put me in two hours' detention?"

Mr. Delmas shook his head – he knew that Sissi was twisting the knife in the wound. "I just might," he retorted.

Sissi snorted. Then, just to make things even worse for her father, she stood up, walked over to the nearest empty dish, and sat down in a huff. A few moments later, Mr. Delmas sat next to her. He looked over, as if to give her some acknowledgement, but gave up and focused on his plate.

Dinner was a sort of beef chili, several pieces of lettuce that accounted for a salad, rice, a roll, and a juice carton. Still, for Sissi, who was hungrier than she'd dared admit, it was the best meal she had ever had. She was finished within ten minutes. Everyone else, who had not slept through lunch, lingered over their food. Magali, Lucille and Céline made multiple faces at their plates, but ate when their parents were watching for fear of their wraths. Luisa, being pregnant, had a larger portion; she ate steadily, but took breaks to smile at everyone at the table to compensate for her lack of conversation. Mr. Delmas was trying to engage the adult Mermonds in light chatter.

"So, Alec, Matthieu, Sandrine," Mr. Delmas began, twisting his spork in his chili, "I never did catch where you were from."

"No, no you didn't," Matthieu said, "But this is as good a time as any. We're from the Bordeaux region, more on the outskirts of the city. My brother was an accountant with this one firm, Sandrine was a schoolteacher, and I was a bartender." He smiled. Mr. Mermond gave his wife an odd look.

"Bordeaux?" Mr. Delmas sounded surprised. "Why are you in the British Isles? Corsica and Sicily would have been closer…"

"We don't know," Mr. Mermond said. "We don't even know how we got to Ireland. We went to the caravans when it was time to go, and they took us here."

"I'm just glad we're on an island," Sandrine said. "Everyone says that the islands are safer, especially now that they've disabled the connections. _They _won't get here without a power source–"

"Sandrine, please," her husband interrupted. "The children don't need to think of that." He was talking about Magali, Lucille, and Céline, who were busy making designs in their chili, but he had forgotten Sissi, who could hear everything, and understood what they were talking about.

"Bordeaux was beautiful," Matthieu said in a low, almost mournful tone. "Right on the river…I remember when I was a kid, maybe a little older than Sissi, there were days when Louis and I would go out to the river and swim all morning. Then we'd have some lunch, and swim for the rest of the day, too…"

"Right, swimming," Mr. Mermond said, with too much of a grin. "You swam _all _day."

Matthieu twitched. Sandrine shook her head. "The children _definitely_ don't need to think of that, Alec."

"Think of what?" Mr. Mermond sounded indignant. "I said swimming, and so did he!"

"Ahem," Mr. Delmas said, rerouting the conversation out of the gutter. "I never have been to Bordeaux, but it sounds like it was lovely. We did have our river, but I can't say the Seine was very swimmable. It was all filth and grime and tourist boats…"

"You two are from Paris?" Matthieu said suddenly. "Right in the city?"

"Well, not quite," Mr. Delmas said. A bead of sweat appeared on his face. He talked very quickly, as though his words were rehearsed. "I was a schoolteacher, too…well, not a teacher. Headmaster, actually. I ran a nice, small _collège _on the outskirts. It was quiet there. Old buildings, a nice wood on the grounds. Quiet, peaceful, nothing much ever happened…"

"Bull," Sissi muttered. Louder, she interrupted, "We're from Kadic Academy in Boulogne-Billancourt."

Matthieu sputtered his food. Mr. Mermond and Sandrine exchanged looks of shock, then looked back at the Delmases with wide eyes. Even Luisa and the girls had stopped what they were doing and staring at the adults with rapt attention.

"That's…awful," Sandrine finally said. "That's…that's…I'm so sorry."

"That's where I knew you from," Matthieu said in a shocked, hollow deadpan. "I recognized you, and your name…I just wasn't thinking." He opened his mouth, as if to say something else, but thought better of it.

"Someone in London told me that no one from Boulogne-Billancourt survived," Mr. Mermond continued in the same manner.

Mr. Delmas's facial expression had changed rather swiftly. His face was hard and solemn, as though he were staring at a particularly indignant pupil. Sissi's was identical, but it was twitching rather rapidly, as though it wished it could leave its position for any other. After a moment's silence, maintained even by the children, Mr. Delmas put down his plate.

"Sissi and I, and many others, escaped during the attack," he said in an authoritative manner. "We stayed in Rouen until it was no longer safe, and then in London we heard the same thing you did. We've met plenty of people since who claimed they had escaped Boulogne-Billancourt, but no one we're familiar with. And I'd prefer if that's all we said of it."

He trailed off and looked at his daughter. Sissi had also put down her plate; she was staring at it with wide, glassy eyes and twitching. Luisa, after some hesitation, put a hand on her shoulder. Sissi shuddered, but made no attempt to remove it.

"Right, then," Matthieu said, trying to defuse the mood, "Look at the time. If we're all done, then we should - what was that?"

There was a sudden loud, rumbling noise from the outside. A white light swept past the dark window, blinding the room and prompting confused shouts from the rooms next door. Magali, Lucille, and Céline shrieked with delight and jumped up – with the noise to occupy them, they didn't have to spend their time trying to process what they had heard.

Matthieu stood up and climbed over several mattresses to get to the window. "Was that another caravan?"

"If it is, they're out of luck," Mr. Delmas said, not bothering to stand. "They've been turning them away for hours now."

Indeed, not five seconds after Mr. Delmas had spoken, there was a loud shout from the outside. [No room! There's no more room! Turn back, there's no more room!] All of the adults in the room were motionless for several seconds.

Slowly, but surely, they began to clean up. Sandrine gathered the dishes to take back to the dining hall. Matthieu and Mr. Mermond called the girls over to prepare for bed. Luisa and Mr. Delmas stayed with Sissi, who still had not moved since Boulogne-Billancourt had been mentioned. Finally, after several minutes, she took a deep breath and relaxed. Luisa smiled and stood to help Sandrine. Mr. Delmas stayed, and the two of them sat in silence.

"I should get ready for bed," Sissi finally said. She stood up and walked over to her mattress.

"But you already slept all afternoon," Mr. Delmas said in surprise. "Aren't you rested?"

"No," Sissi said curtly. She shook her head at her suitcase. "I'm not changing in here with everyone watching me!"

"There's a supply closet next to your father's bed, dear," Sandrine said just before going out the door. "I think it's unlocked."

Mr. Delmas thanked Sandrine, but Sissi did not pay her any heed. She gathered her pajamas, went into the supply closet, and dressed very slowly, as well as she could in the dark. There was nothing in the supply closet except for an old oval mirror propped up against the wall. Sissi couldn't imagine why it was there, and eventually decided against looking at it. She didn't have her makeup or hair care products with her, and she hated to think what she might see.

When Sissi came out, all of the other adults were dressed for bed. She was silently thankful she had not had to see them change. Mr. Mermond and Matthieu were trying to soothe the girls, who were excitable as always, and Sandrine and Luisa had not yet returned. Her father was dressed and upright in his bed. He looked up at her, smiling a tired smile, but her own hard expression did not change. His face fell. "Goodnight," he said as warmly as he could, and turned to his pillow.

"Mm," Sissi grunted. She couldn't stand to stay awake another minute. She walked around her father, tossed her clothes on top of her suitcase, climbed onto her mattress, and threw her head onto her pillow. It took her a few seconds to register that Céline had wandered to her bedside. She was holding a board book entitled _The Glass Boy_. "Will you read me this?" Céline said, holding the book up to Sissi's face.

"No," Sissi said quite plainly.

"But Lucille and Magali want you to."

"I'm trying to sleep. Go away." Sissi turned away from Céline and looked toward her sleeping father. In the glimpse she got before she pulled the covers over her head, it occurred to her just how different her father looked to her. He had lost weight, he no longer wore suits, and now he had shaved his beard. No one could have recognized him at a glance as the principal of Kadic Academy. As she drifted to sleep, she wondered, again, how different she might be if she ever took the mirror out of the closet for a look, and if anyone, if anyone from Kadic was still alive, could take her for the principal's daughter.

There was a flutter of noise as Sandrine and Luisa returned and prepared for bed. The girls begged Sandrine to read their story, and so she did, in a listless drone that just kept Sissi anchored awake. _The first night is always the hardest, _she thought to herself, and hated the world for making her think it. But eventually there was a twitch of light behind her eyes as someone shut the lights; with everything quiet and dark, she could finally make the long trek away to sleep.

* * *

**BANG.**

Sissi felt as though she had hardly been out for a minute before the noise woke her. Her head was heavy with sleep, so she kept her eyes closed, but she could distinctly hear voices and footsteps all around her.

"The noise'll wake the girls for sure…ugh, it's midnight!"

"You have spare beds?"

"What, sir?"

"Spare beds?"

"We have one empty bed, but…"

"You two are married?"

"Yes…"

"Share a bed. Give them the other. We don't have any more."

"Buh…?" Sissi opened one eye, and was confused by what she saw. Her father's bed was not only empty, but lit with the bright hallway light. She shook her head once, and sat up, blinking to try and get the sleep out of her eyes. Slowly, she took in the scene that presented itself to her. Matthieu, Mr. Mermond and Mr. Delmas were in the doorway talking to the large Jamaican man from the parking lot, who was now wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Martha was in the room, also in a T-shirt and shorts, making up one bed in the empty space where Room 404 had eaten dinner. Sandrine was by Luisa's bed, trying to convince her not to get up.

"But…no," Mr. Mermond said, sounding confused. "You can't just take my bed!"

"You'll have a bed. You'll share a twin mattress with your wife. It'll be like high school." No one laughed at his joke.

"Martha told us there would be a maximum of ten people in a classroom," Mr. Delmas said. He was evidently too tired to bring out his English.

"Special circumstances. Mother Superior gave them permission."

"To take my bed?" Mr. Mermond would not let the subject go.

The man ignored Mr. Mermond and turned to face whatever was in the hallway. "Okay, we've got a bed made. We're ready for you. Martha will take her in."

"We can take care of her," a man's voice said. "We haven't had this kind of help anywhere else and we don't want to trouble you…"

"Sir, we're here to be troubled," the Jamaican man said. [Martha, go take care of her.]

[Right.] Martha smoothed the blanket on the mattress one last time, straightened up, and ran out the door. There was a silence, during which the adults looked out the door. All three sets of eyes widened, and Matthieu clenched his teeth.

"Alright. Everyone, make room…" The Jamaican man backed away from the doorway, and the adults clamored over their mattresses. Sissi was now wide awake, and, despite herself, curious. She had only retained about half of what had been said, but she still looked intently at the doorway, wondering what was going to come in from the cold.

After several seconds, three more bundles of cloth, fresh off the caravan, shuffled through the door. From what little Sissi could see of their faces, she determined they were a man, a woman, and a little boy about Magali's age. The Jamaican man stepped away from the door and directed them to the beds available to them. The boy started pulling off his coats and hats and throwing them onto the empty mattress. The woman grabbed him and scolded him in low tones, and he, defeated, started piling his effects by the side of the bed.

Mr. Mermond was standing right next to the man. "Hello," he said, sounding groggy. "That's my bed you'll be sleeping on."

If the man was going to react, he did not have time to before Martha pushed a large, rickety wheelchair through the door. The chair was occupied by a figure so heavily clothed that her skin was hardly visible; if not for the man's pronouns she would not have been recognizably female. She was wearing a coat, gloves, two hats, a scarf tied around her mouth, and, rather unusually, a pair of cheap sunglasses. Sissi felt a pang in her chest when he saw her, like a memory quickly forgotten.

"Anything we can do to help?" Mr. Delmas piped in.

"We've got this. Do what you will," the Jamaican man said. He walked over to where Martha stood, and peeked behind the girl's sunglasses. [She's asleep. Good. Unstrap her. We'll get her undressed and move her to the bed.]

Martha undid the straps that were holding the girl's hands, waist, and neck. The large man started to pick her up, and the bundled man ran over to help him. They started disrobing the girl, first taking off her coat, then her gloves, then her hats. A sheet of unkempt, shiny dark hair fell out of the second hat. When this happened, Sissi saw her father look away from the girl to the mother and son, who were also taking off all of their coats and hats. Sissi could now clearly see both of their faces. They were Asian, and the mother looked vaguely familiar. Suspicion pounded in the back of Sissi's head, but she tried to repress it as long as she could. _No, _she thought._ There's no way…_

Like Sissi, this girl was also wearing a sweater beneath her coat. When the large man pulled this sweater off, the sunglasses fell with it, hitting the floor with a clatter. The large man looked at her face and swore in English. "She's awake! I'm terribly sorry…"

"It's alright," the girl's father said. "It really doesn't make a difference either way." He sighed, and bent down to pick up her glasses. "Here, let's set her down…I'll get her boots off."

The large man picked her up, carried her over to the unused bed, which had been made up for her, and set her down, supporting her in a sitting position. Martha had started preparing Mr. Mermond's old bed, but Sissi only noticed that out of the corner of her eye. She was looking right at the girl's face, her eyes wide as dinner plates. With all the faces that had changed, from the parents to the brother to even her own father, this face, the most unnatural of them all, had not changed since the last time she had seen it – or, indeed, any time in the last five minutes. Though she was now awake, the girl's body was completely limp, and face was entirely without expression. It was set in a dead, dull look, only moved by her breathing. Her almond eyes, which were half-open and darkest black, were locked right on Sissi.

Sissi's heart gave a sudden wave of palpitations. With a small shriek, she fell back on her pillow, forcing her eyes shut.

* * *

"Sissi!"

Everyone in the room gave a jolt at the noise - even the Mermond girls stirred – but only Mr. Delmas rushed to his daughter's side. Martha stepped away from the bed but stood at a distance; the large man, seeing that Sissi was taken care of, continued his removal of the limp girl's boots. Everyone else stumbled back to their beds. Matthieu went to soothe the girls, who were on the verge of waking.

Mr. Delmas put a hand over Sissi's forehead, shook his own head, and looked up at the new woman and her son, who were all that remained of the crowd. The woman's son was wrapped tightly around her leg, and she, in turn, was carelessly running her fingers through his hair.

"Panic," Mr. Delmas muttered just loud enough for the room to hear. "Don't worry, it doesn't happen often…yes, she's gone back to sleep."

"I should hope it doesn't," the bundled man said, speaking from his position by the larger man and the girl. "Until now I thought this was about the quietest room we've had."

His wife said nothing. She pressed her son close to her side, and mouthed Sissi's name as she watched her father look over her with concern. Finally, when she had assumed that the proper amount of time had passed, she spoke. "Mr. Delmas, is that you? Principal Delmas!"

Mr. Delmas's head jerked up at the sound of this appellation. He stood, but did not move from this position. He looked from the woman to her daughter to her husband and back again. "Mrs…oh, my…"

"Mr. Delmas, this is-!" The woman's face broken out in delighted shock. "You're alive! Someone's alive! Look, Takeo!" The woman stepped away from Mr. Delmas, taking her son with her, and pulled on her husband's shoulder, turning him while pointing at Mr. Delmas. "They told us in London that no one survived…but Mr. Delmas, he's alive!"

"What? Mr. Delmas? The principal?" Takeo was bewildered by his wife's excitement, but his eyes were widening with hers. He dropped the boot he was holding and pushed his glasses up his face. "But – are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, that's his daughter!" She pointed furiously at the sleeping girl on the mattress. "Principal Delmas, we – how did you -"

She stopped, unable to go on. Mr. Delmas looked her right in her frozen eyes and gave her a sad, tired look. "We'll have time in the morning to talk, Mrs. Ishiyama," he said, speaking in much the same tone he might have used for an unruly pupil. "But for now, we've all had long journeys, and we all need the rest."

"But –"

"Good night, Mrs. Ishiyama," Mr. Delmas said. He turned away from her and climbed back onto his mattress. He was asleep the moment he hit the pillow.

Takeo turned to face his wife. There was tension radiating from every inch of his being. "Akiko, this man-"

"Not before he's in bed, Takeo." Akiko spoke in the lightest whisper, so the son whose hair she stroked could not hear her. Still, her words held power over her husband. He nodded without relaxing and turned back to the bed, where he assisted the Jamaican man in dressing his daughter for bed. The man spoke to Takeo in a concerned, unintelligible undertone, to which he responded slightly more loudly: "Nothing, he's just an old acquaintance. There's no problem at all…"

The young boy looked over at this scene, full of concern. He pulled on his mother's coat sleeve. "Mommy, there's only two beds for us," he said. "Do I have to share with Yumi again?"

Akiko looked down at her son. "Yes, Hiroki. I'm sorry."

"I don't want to sleep next to her when she's awake," he continued. "She scares me."

Akiko twitched without changing expression. She bent down to her son's eye level and pulled him close, almost smothering him between their coats. "There's no reason to be afraid of her, Hiroki. She's your sister. There's no reason to be afraid."

* * *

I hope that wasn't too melodramatic.

- Carth


	3. Yumi Ishiyama

I can't think of anything witty to say here. Thank you all so, so much for your continued and loving support, especially your wonderful reviews! I will oblige by continuing to give you chapters. C:

Some questions are answered in this chapter. Emphasis on "some." Oh, PS, I never gave you translations for Luisa's Español! I'll do that at the ends of chapters from now on. So here they are, in order of speaking:

_"Are you okay?" "Ah. You are very upset. So am I, but I hope I can still help you." "My name is Luisa." "Sissi. Beautiful." "Oh, hello!"_

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

**Chapter Three  
Yumi Ishiyama**

_At one point, there had to be one face, but right now, Sissi could see thousands. Every facet of the crystal ball was the same, curved around an epicenter, each distorted image paying tribute to the center. _

_Yes, yes, there she was. _

_Two-time Kadic Academy beauty queen, the star and diva of the school, enshrined in glass for all the night to see. The greatest thing to see in an oval mirror. All hers, forever and always. _

_Rip, rip, rip beneath her feet. Someone was ripping her apart in anger. "Don't be so gloomy, Ulrich. Is it because of Milly? You could've said yes, dumped me, and gone to the prom."_

"_Even if I was your date?" In all the chaos, she was the guiding light, the disco ball – she was the inspiration for the dance. If she could reach out and kiss the glass image before her, she could become greater than the sum of its parts._

"_Sissi really did come on strong. If she's the last one off the dance floor alive she'll win for sure."_

"_Yeah, but try to fight your way out. You'll be dead in a week." The lights were out, the image dim. Herb must have been playing with the circuit breakers, that was the only explanation. Herb was the one who deserved to die._

"_Hey, Sissi!" She heard the voice for the first time in a hundred years, beating her own image out of her head. "Stop looking at yourself for a second and talk to me."_

_Sissi obeyed like a robot. She looked down away from the disco ball and found herself on the floor, no ladder in sight. They were all over, infesting the stage. One had cables, another a microphone, the last a roll of tape, and then __**she**__ had nothing but her words. Could they have had faces? Sissi tried to remember, but only the words continued on their way to her mind._

"_Riddle me this and give me the answer," he said, his voice amplified by the instrument in his hands. "I may be the king of the dance floor, but what are you going to do when Ulrich has the microphone?"_

_Sissi couldn't answer and she didn't want to. There was the beauty, eating away at her hands and her eyes in a crash of broken glass. Then there was the other lost voice: "Sissi. We're going to take a trip to the past. Don't you want to come with us?"_

"_Sissi," oh, now __**she **__was talking, why did she have to talk how could she talk with no face, "Why are we dead, and you still alive? [Come on, eat this for me.] Why did you come off the dance floor without me?"_

_For the first time Sissi opened her mouth to speak, but her words died as a gasp in the back of her throat; with no mind with which to think, she could tell them nothing. Then __**she **__had to go and laugh, and the rest of them had to laugh with her, laughing all the way to the grave. They were vanishing before her eyes; Sissi tried to grab hold of him but he caught her by the wrist, looking her in the eyes before he flickered and died._

_The laughter became a roar, and the concrete and plaster fell from the ceiling. Voices appeared behind the plaster, telling her to eat in childish tones. A shadow fell over her face. There was a sound like an explosion, and the four-ghost woman had won.

* * *

_

In the first few minutes after Sissi woke, she lay rigid on the mattress, staring into her pillow. Her dream had condensed itself in her memory – she could remember everything that had happened within it, but found it impossible to pull out any details. The whole event had been kneaded together, like a ball of dough, with each moment indistinguishable from the next. By the time she sat up, fully awake, even that remnant had vanished entirely, leaving only the feeling that it had once existed.

She looked every which way around her to avoid turning her head toward the noise at the center of the room. On her right, the plastic wristwatch atop her father's stack of suitcases read the time as six-fifty-five in the morning. Her father's bed was empty. On her left, the enormous east-facing windows, unfettered by curtains, let sunlight fill the room, despite the early hour. The Mermond girls were still asleep in their beds. Sandrine, Mr. Mermond, and Luisa were also nowhere in sight, but Matthieu remained. He was sitting cross-legged on his own mattress, naked but for a pair of boxer shorts, glaring straight ahead.

Sissi started somewhat at his stern expression. Much like a train wreck, she couldn't help but follow his line of vision to the new family in the center. Martha, who looked far more rested than she had the previous night, and the mother, who looked just as tired, were sitting in plastic folding chairs next to the empty mattresses. Martha was stirring a spoon in a plastic container of white goop, while the woman was holding _her _hand, twisting the straps that held _her _into her wheelchair, and dividing glances between _her _and the other girl in front of her.

[Don't worry, I think I can do this now,] Martha said into thin air as she lifted the large spoon. [Okay…] She hesitated. "What is her name?"

"Yumi, her name's Yumi," the mother said, squeezing _her _hand with enough force to break it if she had been stronger.

"Yes." [Okay, Yumi, open up…] Far from waiting for her, her mother reached open and opened her mouth for Martha, who inserted the spoon. She allowed her mouth to close, and Martha pulled the spoon out. After a moment, she swallowed on her own, giving a tiny, passionless _gulp_ before lapsing back into motionlessness. She had not been redressed since the previous night, nor had her sunglasses been replaced.

Her eyes. She was staring right up at the ceiling, a stare that hadn't once faltered since the meal had begun. Sissi froze herself to prevent her thoughts from torturing her. Instead, she followed her gaze to her ceiling, then back to her eyes, then back up again. With this to concentrate on, everything else was only in the background, perfectly unimportant.

"So," the woman said with something of an uncertain tone, "Mrs. Mermond tells me that you're a student. Do you still have classes?"

"Ah, I…" Martha paused for a beat, unsure what to do, and then gave the woman a weak smile, a smile that said, "I'm sorry, you're probably a very sweet woman and I'd love to understand you, but we don't have a common language so that can't possibly ever work." The woman, though disappointed, understood every word. She returned the weak smile, with much the same meaning. She continued to look at Martha feeding her daughter in silence, with something of a sad, distant look in her eyes.

"Anything I can do to help?" Matthieu cut in suddenly. He did not sound giving or enthusiastic – in fact, the tone in his voice was curt, even cruel.

"What?" The mother looked up at Matthieu, having only just noticed he was there. "Oh, no, don't bother yourself," she said as kindly as she could. Still, she had heard the tone in his voice, and her eyes betrayed uncertainty.

"Mhm," Matthieu said, shifting on the mattress. His arms were crossed tightly across his chest, as if he were struggling to keep warm, even though one of his shirts lay not a foot away. "Jean-Pierre knew who you were."

Akiko tensed. Martha, sensing danger, turned to smile at Matthieu, in a futile attempt to diffuse the feeling. Akiko had no truck with it. "Oh, yes. We're not…we were just acquaintances."

"You called him 'Principal.'"

"He was the headmaster of a local academy," Akiko said. She paused for a second before continuing, gripping Yumi's shoulder. "Very well-respected in the community."

"He gave off that feeling." His gaze lingered on Yumi, even as his tone became more inviting. "Matthieu Mermond."

"Huh?"

"That's my name. I'm Alec's brother. And you?"

"Akiko Ishiyama," she said. "And this is Yumi." She moved her hand up to stroke Yumi's hair. Yumi did not respond, unless the slightest fluttering of her nostrils when she took a breath could be misinterpreted as a response. "My husband is Takeo, and my son is Hiroki. They're at the showers–"

That word brought Sissi back to reality. "Showers?" she said, with an air of blank horror. "When were the showers?"

Matthieu, Akiko, and Martha all started and turned to face her. Yumi did not move. Akiko, lightened with surprise, was the first to speak. "Why, Sissi! You're awake! I didn't realize you were awake…"

"When were the showers?" Sissi repeated, eyes widening in panic. She leaped up out of her bed, tripped over her own feet, and scrambled back up again, livid.

"Our shower time was six o'clock, Sissi," Matthieu said. His entire face changed as he talked to her – he looked far more amicable. "It's seven now, but you'll get another chance–"

"_No one woke me up for a shower!_" she roared, silencing them all. Stumbling with panic, she moved over to her suitcase, throwing clothes, towels, and everything else on her mattress in a disorganized frenzy. She was not making any attempt to be quiet – in fact, she was whimpering with every move she made. Over by the wall, there were some indistinct grunts as the girls began to stir.

"Sissi, we didn't know you wanted to take one!" Matthieu said, taking a quick glance at his nieces. "You can go tonight! It's alright!"

"Shut up!" she yelled, waking all three of the girls. She gathered all of the items she had thrown in a heap and ran for the door.

"No, stop!" Martha jumped up, passing Yumi's food to Akiko. [They're not going to let you in!]

"Make me!" Sissi looked back over her shoulder at Martha, and ended up looking right in Yumi's eyes. Hurriedly, she turned back around, threw the door open, and ran out.

Two feet past the doorframe, she bumped into her father, bounced off, and took a few steps back. Looking up, she saw that he was dressed far more professionally than he had been any time in the past few months, as he was wearing a collared shirt and sweater vest, the only articles of what he had worn as a principal that remained with him. With these clothes, and without his beard, he looked curiously imbalanced.

"Sissi!" He looked down at her arms, which were full of her shower things. "You're awake! I'm sorry, our shower time is up in two minutes."

"Oh…!" At the sight of her father, Sissi felt a lie beginning to burn in the back of her throat. It radiated into her nerves, relaxed her face and shoulders, and worked a smile onto her face. "Of course, of course! Silly me, I didn't even look at the clock!" Despite her apparent composure, her heart was still beating at top speed, and she was breathing very heavily. "I'll just wait 'till evening, then! But if you could just move away from the door, I _do _need to use the bathroom." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I haven't gone since we got here…"

Mr. Delmas's face was oddly contorted, stuck somewhere between suspicion and understanding. "Oh, yes, of course. In that case, I'll take your things back inside."

"Oh, don't bother!" Sissi went on, backing away down the hallway toward the bathrooms. "I'll just change in the stall! Save time and all! I'll be back before you know I'm gone!" Her grin looked like it was about to crack. "Bye!"

She turned and ran for the bathrooms as fast as her legs could take her. She was quite practiced at lying through her teeth, but she'd been perfectly honest about one thing.

* * *

The door was still open behind Mr. Delmas, so when he re-entered Room 404, he shut it behind him and turned to face the rest of the room. There was a flurry of activity inside – everyone was busy further assembling themselves. Martha and Akiko were continuing to feed Yumi, though they did so somewhat faster, now that they knew what they were doing. Matthieu, who was rather pointedly looking the other way, was trying to dress Lucille and Céline, a rather difficult task as the two girls were lying face-first on Magali's mattress, giggling incessantly. Magali herself, defeated and wearing her dress, was sitting on a windowsill nearby. She was perfectly motionless, but her expression could not be read across the room.

"Ah, good morning," Mr. Delmas said to the room. Most everyone started at least a little, not expecting the greeting, but returned it with varying degrees of attention. Matthieu gave an extra smile to compensate for the fact that he was too busy jamming a dress over Lucille's head.

"Mr. Delmas!" Akiko moved to stand up, but found her way and attention cut off by a far faster maelstrom in a white cotton dress and red trainers which ran across the room and got to Mr. Delmas first.

"Hey, Plantface," Lucille said as a matter of greeting, looking up and tugging at his pant leg. "Where's Sissi? We were gonna have a screaming contest."

Mr. Delmas's eyes widened. "A what, my dear?" he said, bending down to her level.

"You know, a screaming contest." Lucille rolled her eyes, as if she could hardly believe that Plantface, even in his adult idiocy, had never heard of a screaming contest. "She was screaming and screaming. I thought she was gonna explode! But I can scream even louder! C'mon, watch me scream!"

She let out a howl so sudden that Mr. Delmas stumbled back. Immediately, there were several loud bangings and muffled angry noises from the walls on either side of the room. Matthieu cringed, jumped up, ran over, and grabbed his niece by the waist. "Luce, what did I tell you about making noise?"

"Don't make noise cause other peoples is sleeping," Lucille recited. "But Sissi–"

"Adults get special privileges. Now go on, go play with your sisters."

Lucille had a grumpy look, as if she wanted to retort, but with one look past her uncle she ran back to the Mermond camp. As soon as she was gone, Akiko stood up and opened her mouth again, but Matthieu beat her to the punch. "Poor Lucille. She'll be a terror at your daughter's age."

"Oh, undoubtedly," Mr. Delmas said. His voice dropped a level. "What was that she was saying about Sissi? Screaming?" He thought for a second, trying to remember what he had seen. "She was fine when I ran into her in the hallway."

"She was throwing fits about missing the showers," Matthieu said. "Of course I knew something wasn't right, and we tried to calm her. But I thought you would know and handle it, and you did. Just like a father should. Speaking of, where is she?"

"Bathroom," Mr. Delmas replied. "I'm sorry that had to happen. Sissi has never been one for moderation in any direction."

"Oh, I can excuse that. Stop me if I'm speaking too much of my mind," Matthieu went on, "But is there anything I or my family could do to make things more bearable for her?"

"Don't worry. I know I'm in a position where I must sacrifice pride for necessity. And as for that…" He bit his lip for a second, trying to determine just how much he wanted to tell Matthieu. "I can never say any one thing for sure. I just try to keep her calm and comfortable, and if one thing doesn't work, I move on to the next. That's really all that matters, now."

"It's the same with us and the girls," Matthieu said, sounding wistful. "It's all about survival."

Mr. Delmas had looked away from Matthieu and toward the Ishiyama camp, where Akiko was standing by her chair, looking nervous. "I'm sorry, but I think Mrs. Ishiyama is trying to get my attention."

Matthieu's eyes narrowed at the Ishiyamas. "Then don't let me stop you. We can talk at breakfast."

"Yes. Thank you for your concern. And–" He took a glance at Matthieu's bare chest. "Haven't you noticed how cold it is in here? You'll be ill."

"I like the cold." Matthieu was trying to keep some of his good cheer, and failing somewhat pathetically. He turned to walk back to his camp. Akiko, now worked up into a frenzy, swiftly walked forward before anyone could stop her.

"Mrs. Ishiyama," Mr. Delmas said as she approached. Though his face remained composed, he couldn't hide the growing anticipation in his voice. He moved several steps away from the door, over to the corner, away from prying ears. Akiko took the hint and moved with him.

"It IS you!" Akiko had a look of excited terror on her face, as though she had been keeping a thousand deadly secrets just barely contained, and only the first of many had begun to slip out. "But I – you – this is impossible!" She gripped his left shirt sleeve. "You, Sissi, the same shelter, the same room…but…" She took a quick glance at his bare chin before continuing. "You're alive! They told us in London…they said the town was, was…"

"It was." Mr. Delmas bowed his head.

Akiko covered her mouth to stifle a shriek. "Oh…oh my god, all those children…"

"No, no," he rushed to say. "Jim and I were able to evacuate the students before the gas was too thick to breathe. I don't know where this rumor's started that no one survived, because we got them all to Paris."

Akiko's shock was slow to fade, but she was regaining her composure. "How many of them were left?"

"Thirty-three. Mostly the overseas students." He paused for a short moment. "We were separated in the caravans, but I'm sure they're alright. There's access to the UN refugee register in all the shelters. Anyone stranded could find their parents, get plane tickets…" His voice got higher and higher as he spoke. "They're alright. They're with their families, I've got Sissi, and you have everyone. That's the most important thing we've got, now."

"Yes, yes, that's right." Akiko turned back to look at her daughter, and Mr. Delmas followed her gaze. Martha was looking right at the two of them with a tense expression, as if, by staring, she might be able to understand all they were saying. Akiko smiled at her, crushing all her hopes, and turned back. "Did you speak to Takeo at all?"

"Oh-" Mr. Delmas took his eyes off Yumi. "He was at the showers, but all he seemed keen to talk about was the soap allowance."

"Even here...I don't believe it." Akiko's voice grew distracted. "All this time, all the places we've been, and he's still on about the soap."

"All the places you've been… why are you all the way in Dublin?" Mr. Delmas sounded grave. "Sissi and I are only here because we lingered in Rouen. If you got out with the crowd, there should have been plenty of room for you in London or that area."

"Room for us, yes…" A loud creaking noise interrupted her sentence. The two of them turned to see Mr. Mermond, Mr. Ishiyama, and Hiroki come through the door. The two men were in shirts and jeans, while Hiroki was in his underwear. Mr. Mermond ran to join his daughters, and Hiroki ran to his bag and began dressing himself. Mr. Ishiyama was far slower on the uptake. He took a look at Martha, then at Yumi, then at Akiko's vacant seat, which he occupied.

"Like I was saying," Akiko continued in an undertone, seeing that Takeo was occupied, "There was room for us. Just…not for her. We've been to every town, every shelter the caravans would take us. No one wants the responsibility."

"That can't be right," Mr. Delmas said, sounding indignant. "The public shelters have more than enough medical support, and they can't turn anyone away."

"They let us in the door, but only because they had to." She now dropped her voice to a whisper. "No one is even trying to hide their fear."

"That's…" Mr. Delmas couldn't finish his sentence. He tried to look over Akiko's shoulder as discreetly as possible. Takeo was muttering something to Martha, which she was answering in short, confused bursts. Yumi was still staring up, ignoring the both of them. "So there's been no change in her condition?" he said.

"We still have the physician's notes." Akiko pulled a folded paper out of her blouse pocket and handed it to Mr. Delmas. It was faded and worn, and the unknown doctor's messy handwriting was assembled in bullet points. -_Responds to physical stimuli, touch, pain, reflexes functional. -No response to sound or visual stimuli, no damage to eyes or ears. _Two lines were smudged. _–Blood pressure normal. –Brain activity…? _There were more spots of ink, but the second half of the paper was warped and water-damaged.

When Mr. Delmas had finished, he looked up. "And?"

"And he's been perfectly correct about everything. She eats, she breathes, she sleeps, she reacts to pain…and she sits. And she stares." Akiko made a choking noise, and she began speaking more quickly. "We try to keep her calm and comfortable, and so far, she's still alive. After so long, I find myself wondering if that's the best we can hope for."

Mr. Delmas twitched. He prepared himself to have to comfort her, but she let out a sigh and was composed. He was free to be calmer in his response. "Well, that is what a lot of people think. But if I can say so, everyone has been very well treated here, you and your family included. And if you got everything from Martha, you know about the refugee plans. It can only get better from here."

"If anything, Mr. Delmas, you're an optimist. But it is helpful." Akiko made a face. "Where did your daughter go?"

"The bathroom…a long time ago." Some realization made its way into Mr. Delmas's mind, but he had to stifle it, as Takeo had just approached the pair without announcing himself.

"Takeo!" Akiko smiled at her husband. "I've just been catching up with Mr. Delmas. It's unbelievable that we would be in the same place, isn't it?"

"Perfectly," Takeo said, looking from Mr. Delmas to his wife. "It's the same everywhere, Akiko. All the food in the world here, and they're still rationing the soap. Complete nonsense. The world's gone mad."

"Yes, I was just telling her," Mr. Delmas. "It ruins absolutely everything."

Mr. Ishiyama failed to catch any of the humor in that comment. "Mr. Delmas, that girl over there says you speak English."

[I do.]

"I'm not going to be a brute and take the food away from her, so please tell her that I can feed my daughter myself."

"Why, Takeo?" Akiko sounded confused. "These people are being very gracious. We should welcome their help."

Takeo muttered something in Japanese, which his wife gave a curt reply to. Behind the two, Martha raised an eyebrow. Mr. Delmas, heavily uncertain of his actions, held out his hand. "If it would make things better for you, I'd be more than willing to translate for you and Martha. Come, let's get this settled…"

Across the room from where three of them got up to approach Martha, the Mermond girls, Magali, Lucille, and Céline, were huddled together on the windowsill. The three of them were not in any way hiding their open-mouthed glares at the Ishiyama camp – not at the adults, not at Martha, and especially not at the nonsense girl in the wheelchair who never moved and had to be fed by hand.

"So what's wrong with her?" Magali said, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"I think she's dead." Céline was quieter, but only because she was visibly afraid. She was hugging Maria very close to her heart.

"Nah." Lucille was naturally able to blow out a wall with her voice. "If she was dead her eyes'd be shut."

"Girls, get down from there." Mr. Mermond was over by his own bag with Matthieu, who was finally pulling on a T-shirt. He was doing frantic double-takes between the girls and the others in the room, who had not reacted to his daughters' comments.

"We're not doing anything," Lucille said, giving her father a pained look. "We want to sit. There's no law against sitting."

"Don't try to fool us," Matthieu said, walking toward them. "You're Lucille Mermond. You don't just _sit._"

"Well, today I do," Lucille said.

"Look, we have a few more minutes before Mommy gets back and we all go get breakfast. Why don't we go exploring?"

"Matthieu, even you know that's not a good idea," Mr. Mermond said, shaking his head at his brother. "There are people everywhere they can fit them. Girls, I'd be happy if you were over here, but if you _have _to sit up there, please don't say anything."

"When did we say anything?" Magali said, with a derisive, I-can't-believe-you-don't-trust-me tone. "You must've imagined it. We've been as good and quiet as mice." Her sisters chorused their agreement – "Good as mice!"

"Mice aren't good or quiet at all," Mr. Mermond said. "Your uncle had a mouse when he was ten. It squeaked and scratched at all hours, and one night, it tried to eat me."

"It _only _chewed your sheets."

To their mutual disappointment, the girls did not giggle, as they usually did when they heard this story. Mr. Mermond sighed and dropped his voice. "Girls, please listen. Yumi is very ill. I don't know why, but I'm not going to ask, because it's not polite to ask people those things. And it's not polite to talk about or stare at them, either. So you have to be good, and be nice to them."

"Yes, Daddy," Magali said, understanding but not completely believing. Lucille, who didn't know what "polite" meant, nodded her way through everything he said. Céline, who didn't understand a word, let her attention wander back to Yumi.

All of the adults were talking near her, but that, of course, was uninteresting. She simply couldn't comprehend why she wasn't moving, but still had her eyes open. She couldn't be dead, and she couldn't be sleeping. Maybe she was bored? Or just playing a trick? Too scared by incomprehension to dare herself to look any further, she snapped her gaze away to the next mattress. There was a boy sitting there alone – Hickie, she was sure his name was. He was wearing a T-shirt and long shorts, and was rummaging through is bags. "Hickie looks really lonely," she said.

Magali's eyes lit up at the words. "Yeah! Daddy, Uncle Matt, can we go play with him? Please please please? We don't want him to sit all by himself. That would be really bad _and_ really not polite!"

Mr. Mermond struggled with the notion for a moment. "Eeeeurgh. Matt?"

Matthieu didn't waste any time struggling. "Eeeeurgh."

"Well then. I…don't see a problem. But playing is all you're doing. Don't force him to do anything, and ask the adults first!" He had the thought to tell his daughters not to talk about Yumi, but knew that would only give them ideas. He need not have bothered, as the girls had stopped listening at "problem." They jumped up, hugged their father, and ran over to the other side of the room. The two men moved closer to the edge of their camp and watched the girls like hawks.

The girls completely disregarded the adults and bounded right over to Hiroki's mattress, bouncing it and knocking his bag out of his hands. "Hey!" Magali yelled. "What's your name?"

Hiroki gathered his bag up again before even bothering to look up at them. When he did, he balked slightly, somewhat surprised at the fact that there were three girls on the edge of his mattress. Presented with many options, he chose to be shy, and went back to his bag.

"She asked you what your name is, stupid," Lucille added in a helpful tone. Matthieu slapped his forehead.

"Hiroki!" Hiroki said as fast as he could. "Now go away." As he talked, he pulled a large, bulky Game Boy out of his bag, along with an AC adapter. Without so much as another regard to the Mermond girls, he ran over by Luisa's bed and plugged it into the wall outlet.

"What are you doing?" Céline's voice sounded behind him. He turned out to find that, to his horror, the three girls had followed him.

"Nothing," Hiroki said, to get rid of them.

"It doesn't look much like nothing." Magali went around behind Hiroki and plucked his Game Boy out of his hands. She took a good look at it and gasped. "You have a Game Boy?"

Hiroki shushed her. "Not so loud. My mom told me to leave it behind."

"Oh, okay," Magali said in her quietest voice. From her angle, she could get a good look at Hiroki's face. She looked for a few seconds, then snapped quickly back to the Game Boy. "I always wanted one of these! I asked for it for Christmas, so in a month, I'm going to have one too."

At the mention of Christmas, Céline's face fell. "Are we still going to have Christmas?" she said in a small voice. Both Lucille and Hiroki started at her sacrilegious words.

"What? Of course we are," Magali said, without a stitch of doubt in her voice. "Pére Noël knows everything. He'll know where to find us."

"But there's no chimneys here."

"Pére Noël is magic, Céline, he'll make one." Magali turned her attention back to Hiroki. "So what kind of games do you got?"

Hiroki couldn't decide whether or not to answer for the longest time. "Uh…I have Super Racer 2080 in there right now. I was only going to play for a minute…"

Lucille began tapping her foot against the floor. "So, what's wrong with your si-"

Magali clamped a hand over Lucille's mouth. "That's it? Just that game?"

Hiroki froze up somewhat, and kept looking at Lucille as he talked. "Uh, I have two more. But I can't find them."

"Hey, we can help you!" Magali mustered the courage to look him right in the eyes. "We're really good finders."

"And we can lose stuff, too," Céline added.

Hiroki mulled the prospect over for a moment, uncertain. "Um…okay. Yeah."

The four of them moved over to Hiroki's bag and began scouring every inch of it. As they did so, the adult conversation broke up as Martha left the room, leaving the door slightly open. Akiko watched her leave somewhat forlornly. Mr. Delmas shut the door behind her, his face unreadable. Takeo walked over to Martha's chair, picked up Yumi's food container, now empty, and capped it. "I can wash this later," he said, just so the room could hear him say it.

"Speaking of breakfast," Matthieu said, getting up and looking at his watch, "It's already five after seven. If we don't get down there soon, the lines will be impossible."

"But what about Sandrine and Luisa?" Mr. Mermond helpfully remembered. "They're not back from the showers yet."

"And I'm not leaving Yumi in here alone," Takeo, who had no experience with the meal situation, said with some indignance.

"All of you go ahead," Mr. Delmas said, looking right at the Ishiyamas. "I'm not hungry. Besides, I need to wait for Sissi. I won't let any of them come back to an empty room."

"Sounds well enough on my end," Matthieu said, standing up. "We'll bring back plates for everyone. Girls, come on, we're going to get breakfast." The girls, who had not yet found any of Hiroki's games, hemmed and hawed, but finally left when Akiko called Hiroki over to the door. Takeo did not look the happiest about the situation, but Akiko marched him out the door anyway.

"Let us know if anything happens," Akiko said before the door shut behind all of them. Mr. Delmas was alone now, alone but for Yumi, whose slow, even breathing was the only sound in the whole room. Mr. Delmas looked uncertainly from one end of the room to the other; when his eyes came to rest on Yumi, he couldn't stand to stay still. He walked over to her, stopping just a foot away. He stared into her eyes, and she stared right back.

"I know why my daughter ran away from you," he said to the unmoving face. "And I wish I could say I didn't. But I do. By God, I do." He gripped her armrest, and bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

He shuddered, unable to look up at her, and she continued to stare down at him, unresponsive as ever.

* * *

This was originally one long chapter that was split into two. Part 2 is coming next Saturday!

- Carth


	4. End of Line

And now I'm switching back to Mondays! I think at this rate you can expect updates on either Monday or Saturday. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up this pace, though. School has been throwing things at me faster than I can handle them, so all I have of Chapter Seven is a few paragraphs and some scribbled frustration. Still, I hope you like this!

Oh, and I think I should mention – I did not do ANY of the Spanish translations! That was done by my good friend David, or Planet Cool. I'll include translations of Luisa's dialogue at the end of the chapter. She gets chatty in this one!

* * *

**Chapter Four  
End of Line**

Only a few moments after she had entered, Sissi flew out of the bathroom door, clothes still in hand. The hallway was as long as it was plain, with more than thirty classrooms and still more offices and broom closets spread across either side. Still, the shower line, now all occupied by people with seven o'clock shower times in various states of undress, extended most of the way down of the hall. Sissi bypassed the entire line and ran right to Rooms 415 and 416, which appeared to be laboratory rooms. A large, muscular teacher, whose name tag identified her as the school nurse, stood guard before the door.

Sissi skidded to a halt in front of the woman, dropping her clothes and putting her hands on her knees. "Let me in, let me in!" she managed to pant and yell at the same time.

The nurse's stern facial expression did not change. "End of line," she said in very broken French.

"No no no no no no no!" she yelled even louder. "My shower time was six o' clock, and it's-" She looked at her watch, and then shoved it in her face. "Six fifty-nine! You have to let me in ahead of them!"

Some of the people at the front of the line laughed and jeered at her, while others grumbled and swore. There was such a cacophony that Sissi couldn't accurately understand any of them, bar the loud, hoarse man who yelled, "Hey, sweetheart, who do you have to kiss to cut the lines?" The nurse, who knew what that meant without understanding it, said, "Number?"

"Six o' clock! Let me in!"

"She was talking to me, sweetheart," the man at the front of the line said, letting Sissi know why she could hear him so clearly. "411-7."

The nurse waved him ahead to Room 422. Sissi paid the man no heed; the nurse was looking away from Room 424 to assist the rest of the line, and while she was thus distracted, she made a flying leap for the door. The line gave a shout, and before Sissi could move another step, the nurse had her in a vicegrip. "End of line!" she thundered.

"No!" Sissi thrashed against the woman, but made no headway, as the nurse's arms were about as thick as Sissi's whole body. "What's the big deal? It's just a shower!"

"Yeah, what is the big deal, sweetheart?" The man from the front of the line, for some unfathomable reason, leaned back out the door of Room 422. "It's just a shower."

Most of the first half of the line laughed behind them – all but the few at the very front of the line. They were not only impatient at the delay, but had joined the nurse in trying their hardest not to gawk at the man, unlike Sissi, who had no designs of politeness and gawked all that she could. The entire right side of the man's body was splattered with scar tissue. Much of the skin on his right arm, right leg, neck, and face was brown, wrinkled, and blistering. A large splash of the scarring went across his right eye socket; there were only stitches where the eye should have been. His left eye was intact, but clouded; it was clear he could not see very well out of it.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" The man's good eye was trained on Sissi, and he did not seem to have noticed the rest of his onlookers. He grinned hungrily. "Haven't you ever seen a dead man before?"

Sissi looked every which way, but saw nothing she liked in any direction. Her fear strangled all other motivation, and she was all ready to retort with a comment about the man's scars when the door to Room 424 opened. Sandrine and Luisa stepped out, both soaked through, and looked right at Sissi and the scarred man. Sandrine was wearing a shirt and sweatpants, while Luisa had only a towel around her bloated, shivering frame.

"Sissi!" Sandrine ran over next to the restrained girl, who turned away from her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing for anyone that does the right thing," the scarred man jeered. The rest of the line shouted their agreement. "She was cutting in front of us!" "She's holding things up even now!" "This is a school, isn't it? Write her up or summat!"

"And is it your duty to heckle her for it?" Sandrine shot right back. Luisa, who only understood that a strange man had been threatening Sissi, turned right round and launched a torrent of rapid Spanish at the scarred man. Clearly not understanding a word, he calmly put his hands up and backed away into Room 422, closing the door behind him.

That taken care of, Sandrine looked up at the nurse, who was about a foot taller than she was. "We'll take care of her, ma'am." She took Sissi's hand to make the point clear. The nurse nodded, and released Sissi. She went back to her station and began typing something into a laptop that lay there. "Next," she said, in a fairly undisturbed tone.

Sandrine's grip on Sissi's hand became iron, and she marched her several feet down the hallway, with some difficulty. Luisa tried as well as she could to catch up with her, jabbering as she waddled through the hall. "¿Qué estaba haciendo ese hombre? ¿Te dijo algo indecente?"

"Let go of me!" Sissi tried to wrench her hand out of Sandrine's, but couldn't without dropping her clothes, which she did not want to do.

"Si te amenazó, voy a traer al hombre mas grande de toda la escuela, y…"

"We're going back to the room," Sandrine said in her best personal-impersonal tone. "I think your father needs to-"

"NO!" Sissi sat down right in the middle of the hallway, pulling Sandrine down with her. Sandrine stumbled, but was able to kneel down by Sissi without any major injuries. Luisa crouched down next to them, looking both confused and concerned.

"Sissi, what's wrong?" Sandrine sounded concerned, but her tone had a touch of impatience.

"I'm not ever going back to that room," Sissi choked. Tears had appeared at the corners of her eyes. "Never, never. I'll sleep in the hallways. I'll sleep in the showers, forever if I have to."

"Sissi, if there's a problem, we can talk it over with your father, or with Martha." Sandrine tried to touch Sissi's face, but as she froze under her touch, she moved her hand away. "Just tell us what's wrong, so we can help you."

"I'm not ever going back to that room," Sissi repeated. "He…I…it's just…"

"Sissi." Luisa took Sissi's shoulder and pulled her toward herself. "Mírate nada más. Estás tan molesta, no puedes ni mentír bien. Ya sé la verdad. El ojo del diablo no te vá a dejar en paz mientras sus victimas sigan contigo." With one hand on Sissi's shoulder, Luisa struggled to keep her towel up, but her eyes were full of determination. "El ojo del diablo se llevo la cara de él y el alma de ella, y tienes miedo de que se lleve algo tuyo, también. ¡Qué ridículo! Siempre habrán diablos, pero siempre habrán valientes también. Tú eres valiente, pero si no te concentras en luchar contra el ojo del diablo, me vas a decepcionar."

Sissi blinked; her words were all a jumble in her head. "Um, yes?"

Luisa nodded, and gave Sissi a mischievous grin. She turned to Sandrine and summed up all that she had said with, "La niña."

Sandrine's whole face changed at those words. She opened her mouth to speak, but in the short time Sissi had known Sandrine, she knew that whatever she said would be exactly what she had heard a hundred times. "Um," she said, "I'm sorry, I think I'm just…I didn't mean all of that, of course. I think I just need to take a walk. A short walk, alone, and then I'll come right back to the room. You understand me, right, Luisa? Walk? _El walko?_"

She made a walking motion with her fingers. Luisa caught on and nodded at Sandrine, who looked more confused than convinced. "I don't know…"

"My father would let me," Sissi said. "Go on ahead, go and ask him."

"Well…if you do think it'll help you," Sandrine finally said. "But for God's sake, be decent."

"Of course. I'm okay, I'll be okay." She calmed her face and put on a smile, looking so convincing that Sandrine actually believed her. She gathered her clothes, gave them both one final smile, and set off back for the bathrooms to change.

Once she was out of earshot, Luisa turned to Sandrine. "Esa mujer está escribiendo un reporte." She made a typing motion with her free hand.

"I wouldn't have let her go if she hadn't," Sandrine said. "I don't fix other peoples' children. Oh, we'd better hurry. They're all going to breakfast."

* * *

For a second time that day, more than she was ordinarily used to, Sissi was true to her word. She changed into another long, grey T-shirt and jeans in a bathroom stall, stashed her pajamas in a broom closet in order to avoid having to return to her room, and, from there, began to wander. She didn't want to stay on the fourth floor, so she walked the short distance to the north stairs and opened the doors. The stairwell was full of groups and families all heading downstairs, so she went upstairs, becoming the subject of many odd looks.

The fifth floor looked much the same as the fourth, both in architecture and in setup – families in classrooms and a long shower line in the hallway. This Sissi walked through, keeping her head down. For a split second, Sissi considered getting into the shower line, but decided that if everyone already thought she was insane, she may as well be dirty to go with it. When she reached the other side, she got back into the stairwell. There was no level above the fifth, only custodial access to the roof by way of a stepladder. Sissi was reluctant to use her arms so early in the morning, so she walked down, bypassing the fourth floor without so much as a look.

The third floor, which she bisected as well, was the same as the fourth and fifth. The second also had much the same setup, but with one vital difference – there were no children or families, but only lone adults. More than on any other floor, the people here had injuries visible, whether they were acid splashes like the scarred man – though all less severe than his – or, far more commonly, the small, round pockmarks of laser burns. One man was missing a whole arm. Sissi stared dumb at this scene until a woman asked her if she was lost, whereupon she ran down the stairs to the first floor.

She came out on the opposite side of the building from where she came in, and found herself in a large, spacious hallway full of bulletin boards advertising long-expired school events. There were several posterboard signs taped to the wall in front of her, printed in French and English. One read "GYM, SHOWERS" and pointed left, the other read "FOOD, W.C., LIBRARY, REGISTRY" and pointed right. They were by far the quietest and most still things she could see, as the hallway was full to the brim with children – more children than Sissi had ever seen alone in one place in a long time.

They were of all shapes, sizes, and ages, from stumbling toddlers to teenagers older than her. Most of them were walking to the left, walking to the right, leaning against the walls and talking to each other, or running around at some game or another. Some were sitting on the line of empty mattresses that stretched all the way down the hall to the gym, which was hard to see from that distance. Desperate to walk somewhere, she joined the crowd going to the gym.

She was not sure whether to be relieved or angered that she did not attract any attention in the hall. Most of the kids were as dirty and disheveled as she was; if a boy or girl was perfectly coiffed and assembled, he or she was also wearing the Avenshire uniform. These students, obviously recruited to help, mostly stayed in tight-knit groups, speaking placidly to each other in English as they avoided the French refugees' eyes. But, scattered here and there in the crowd, the aged, smiling Sacred Heart sisters were actually doing work, whether it was carrying babies, comforting crying children, or telling off half-dressed pairs of teenagers for being on the same mattress.

When Sissi reached the door of the gym, she found it would be impossible to venture inside without stepping on someone's mattress, as the room was covered wall-to-wall with them. There was much the same scene inside as there was outside, except far quieter, as most of the people inside were still asleep. Still, Sissi was hypnotized by the movement in the room, and watched for a while. Everyone was with someone else; no one ever seemed to be alone. Even the little red-haired girl by the door, who was just barely stirring, had two or three girls beside her, poking and prodding her further awake. Sissi looked at this girl with disinterest for a second, and then did a double take, just in time for her to open one bleary eye and look right at her.

"Do you need something, dear?" an old woman's voice said suddenly. Sissi whipped around to see one of the sisters smiling next to her.

"Well, no, I, uh…" Sissi looked from the sister back to the girl, who had looked away, and then determinedly back at the sister. "I'm from upstairs. I was just exploring. I'll leave now-"

"Oh, that's quite alright. You're welcome to look around, socialize, anything you want." She pointed down the hall. "Or, if you're looking for something to do, we've got a movie playing down that way right now, and the end doors are open if you want to go outside. And, of course, the cafeteria is in the north wing if you're looking to get breakfast at your time."

"Right, of course! I think I'll go…something. Okay, thank you!" With a giant grin, Sissi walked swiftly away, taking deep breaths to calm herself. The sister waved after her, but she did not bother to see it. All that mattered to her was getting as far away from the gym as possible.

This branch hallway was far emptier than any of the others, and only one door on it was open, leading to the small classroom where the movie was playing. Out of curiosity, Sissi ducked inside, but found herself disappointed. The movie was the most recent _Astérix _film, a series of which she had never been much of a fan, and she was by far the oldest person of the five in the room. She tolerated the movie for about three minutes before she raced out to the end double doors, which she presumed led outside to the grounds.

The doors were something of a back exit, having no outside handle, but she was right all the same. Sissi stepped out, blinked her eyes a few times against the sun, and then began walking without aim or destination, all around the school. This day was just as beautiful as the last, though somewhat cloudier, quite cold, and far quieter, now that the caravans were gone. The campus lawns were lush, green, and, as far as Sissi could see, completely empty bar a large, gnarled oak tree, which she passed twice in her rounds.

Finally, her legs too sore to go on, she sat under the oak tree, head between her knees. She began to hear a pounding in her feet, and knew it would do nothing to ease the pounding in her head. She knew, somewhere, that she was being ridiculous. There must have been thousands of little red-haired girls in France alone, and the possibility that one certain little red-haired girl, especially one from Boulogne-Billancourt, could make it all the way to Dublin was horribly, horribly slim. But it didn't even really matter who it was, because the walk was doing nothing and Dublin was doing nothing and she had done nothing, nothing at all, not even when the demon eye stared her right in the face and everyone around her was begging for mercy…

After a few moments, a loud shout crushed her heavy memories. She looked up to see a gang of boys walking out of the front hall entrance some metres away. They were all about her age, if somewhat older, and all four of them were wearing the Avenshire uniform. They were having some sort of contest under the front awning – they were each trying to jump and grab the top. They were at this for several minutes before one of them, the one jumping, happened to look over at the oak tree. He stopped jumping, gathered his fellows, and said something to them in English. They all replied enthusiastically, and changed their course to head for her. Sissi grumbled and stood up, prepared to flee if she had to – but also to stay if she must.

[Hey,] one of the boys said, leaning on the tree next to her. [Nice weather we're having, huh?]

Sissi blinked, and shuffled defensively. This boy was somewhat cute – scruffy blond hair, nice teeth – but she knew a leer when she saw one.

[Aw, back off, Keagan, you're scarin' her with your ugly face,] a taller, dark-haired boy said. The boy by his side, who could not have been anything but his twin, laughed hoarsely. They had her surrounded on all sides – there was no way she could fight them off if she had to, and no one could hear her scream from outside.

[Well, at least I ain't got two of 'em, like you lot.] Keagan leaned in even closer. [Don't worry, love. We ain't all like them two.] He laughed with much the same laugh as the twins. It was clear to Sissi that he knew she couldn't understand him, so she just glared at him.

[Oi, I saw her first. Let me have a turn.] The final boy, a large, meaty creature with far too many freckles, pushed Keagan out of the way. He adopted his leer, and pointed to himself. [Hey, don't be scared, poodle-skirt. I'm Gilligan, and I'm the nice one.]

[_Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip_,] one of the twins began singing gleefully. [_That started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship_-]

[Shadap!] Gilligan barked at his friend. [So you can't speak English, is that it, poodle-skirt? Lucky for you, I happen to know some French. Croissant? Fromage? Ooh la la et we surrender?]

The twins laughed uproariously. [Ey, no,] Keagan said. [Maybe she's one of the Spanish ones.]

[Ah,] Gilligan's face lit up. [Fiesta, fiesta, ay caramba!]

There was even more laughter from the peanut gallery, but Sissi was not amused. She looked Gilligan right in the eye. She couldn't find any way out, physically or verbally, so she held up her right hand and made a gesture all five of them could understand.

[Oooooh!] Keagan and the twins were no longer laughing – they looked impressed. Gilligan just grinned even wider. [Well how about that, a connection is made! I like you, poodle-skirt. You're feisty. Twisted. We need more girls like that around here.] The large boy leaned down to her level and reached for her chin. She slapped him away. [If you're so good with your hands I'd like to see what you can do with your mouth. Oi, Ken, Bradley. Go to the dorms and get me Union Jack.]

[No need, Gill.] One of the twins, whether Ken or Bradley Sissi could not tell, pointed at the awning. [Union Jack's right there.]

The twin raced off to the awning. Sissi tried again to walk away from the boys, but they kept following her all the way around the tree, unwilling to let their game escape. Some seconds later, Ken or Bradley returned, leading another boy in Avenshire dress some steps behind. He was of about average height and handsome-faced, with dark blue eyes and messy hair of the same hue. He was looking around, taking in the scene before him, and looking both confused and displeased.

[Union Jack knows French,] Gilligan explained. Sissi half-understood this, and felt bile rising in her throat. Gilligan left her with the twins by the tree and approached the boy. [Ay, Jack,] he said in a very jovial tone. [Good to see you out and about. It's way too depressing to be in the school anymore, isn't it?]

[Just get to the point, Harvey,] Union Jack said. He had a different accent than the other boys, and his voice was deep and commandeering.

[Right, the point!] Gilligan pointed over at Sissi. [We found poodle-skirt here outside, and we've been trying to make good with her – maybe even invite her to Friday's thing. Thing is, we don't know French, and she doesn't know English. This is where you come in, Union Jack. You need to be our mediator, our saving angel, so as it is.]

Union Jack mouthed [Poodle skirt?] with disbelief. He looked about ready to give a negative reply, but before he could, he caught a good look at Sissi, who looked far more angry than she did scared. His eyebrows flew up, but the rest of his face relaxed. [Go ahead. Just tell me what I need to tell her.]

[Good boy, Jackie.] Gilligan grabbed Union Jack by the arm and dragged him over to Sissi. [Here she is. Ask her name.]

Union Jack turned to Sissi, whose hard face grew harder. "He wants to know your name. What's really going on?"

"None of your business," Sissi spat.

"Funny, that was what I was going to say." Union Jack turned back to Gilligan. [She says it's none of your business.]

Keagan and the twins snorted. Gilligan tried not to look ruffled. [Well, to hell with names. I've got one for poodle-skirt and it works for me. Anyway, tell her I think she's cute, and I think I'd like to see more of her. Tell her about the dance in the dorms on Friday. Tell her I wouldn't mind if she came along.]

Union Jack turned to Sissi. "He says he's a pompous lech who's so lonely and frustrated he has to resort to harassing people to get them to like him."

Sissi cocked an eyebrow. "What's he really saying?"

"There's a dance we're putting on in the dorms on Friday. Nothing fancy, just a grind-fest, but everyone of Avenshire age is invited. He wants you to go with him."

"May as well be what you said. Tell him to go jump in a lake."

Union Jack turned to Gilligan. [She says forget that, she'll meet you under this tree at midnight. Wear something nice.]

Gilligan leered, and everyone laughed. [Tell her the same, if she has anything nice left.]

"I told him to meet you out here at midnight. That's when the sprinklers come on. Or they should, I'm not sure if they turned them off."

"Better you than me when he finds out," Sissi replied. Union Jack was unfazed.

[Oh, hey!] Keagan leaned down next to Union Jack. [Ask her 'bout the creatures. How big were they, really? Did she see someone get blown to bits? What was it like?]

Union Jack's face contorted. "He says he has a horrible, disfiguring rash in certain unspeakable regions and would very much like to be taken to a hospital." He paused. "A mental hospital."

Sissi didn't want to smile, but she couldn't help it, which confused the four boys. Ken or Bradley had an odd look on his face. [Hey, wait a second!] he cut in. [That wasn't anything bout the creatures at all! Something about a hospital or whatever.]

Gilligan's face grew hard. [Have you been messing with us, Jack? I wouldn't put it past you.]

[Did I have to?] Union Jack smirked at them. [You were screwed the second I saw you out here. Remember what Sister Grace said about people who skip their shifts? Ten rosaries, a day in the kitchen, and written apologies, if you forgot, and bloody boring if you ask me. If you hurry back, maybe you'll avoid that and I won't have to tell them you were harassing one of the refugees_._]

Looks of horror came over Keagan, Ken, and Bradley's faces, and they ditched Gilligan for the school. Gilligan looked from one grin to the other, his own dissolving into rage. [You're lucky she's here, Union Jack. I'm not violent in front of a lady. But tonight, you're _dead._] He made a rude gesture similar to Sissi's, but Union Jack only shrugged. Finally, he too had to run back to the school.

Sissi stared after Gillgan's retreating back, in shock and awe at what had just happened. Union Jack lay back in the grass next to her, laughing his head off. "Look at him run," he said. "He wasn't kidding about killing me, but that's no big deal at all. At least he's not bothering you anymore."

"Laugh all you want, Mr. Hero," Sissi cut in sardonically, standing up on her own. She wasn't hurt, but her pride was. "Just so you know, I'm not some damsel in distress that needs saving all the time. I could have taken them on if I wanted to."

"I'd love to say you're wrong, but I saw you earlier. Not many people could give Harvey Gilligan the bird and live to tell the tale." He stood up to be at her level, but she did not react. "By the way, the other three are named Keagan O'Malley and Ken and Bradley Young. Drop their names to any sister you want and you can exact some nice, institutional revenge."

"I don't like talking to the sisters," Sissi said. "You're their student, you do it."

"Me, reporting delinquents to the sisters?" Union Jack laughed. "I'd be the biggest hypocrite for miles. No, the sisters are nice enough if you're on their good side, but I'm not on their good side."

"I don't think you're on anyone's good side, Union Jack."

Union Jack's eyebrows narrowed. "You know, that's not my name."

"But it sounds like a name, and they _were_ calling you that."

"Think more closely. You know, the Union Jack? The British flag? I'm from the UK, so they call me Union Jack."

"And they aren't?"

Union Jack groaned. "How many times do I have to tell people this? Ireland isn't Britain."

"Yes it is," Sissi said, counting off countries on her fingers. "England, Scotland, that other one, Ireland…"

"_Northern_ Ireland," he said. "You could say that to some people down here and get killed, so be careful. And "that other one" is Wales, which is where I'm from, so be extra careful."

There was an awkward silence. Sissi tried to open her mouth to dissipate it, but Union Jack got there first. "You know, I wasn't lying about the dance on Friday."

Sissi's face grew grim. "Oh?"

"Yeah…" Union Jack's voice lost its enthusiasm. "They're going to go around and tell the rooms tomorrow…just a sort of welcome thing, you know…for you guys. I'm supposed to tell people," he added hastily.

Sissi nodded. "Well, Jack, I appreciate you playing hero for me earlier, but I can't say I'm in the mood to be flirted with, and _especially_ not for dances. So keep walking, go turn your little charms on someone else, and please don't come looking for me. Especially not at the dance, because I'm not going."

Union Jack's voice became defensive. "What's your problem with dances?"

"I've got a lot of problems," Sissi hissed. "And dances are every single one of them."

She turned on her heel and headed for the awning. Union Jack, still miffed, followed after her. "Wait, come back! At least tell me your name!" he called, but it was too late – she had run back inside. With nothing to do for half an hour, he grumbled and returned to his spot by the awning. There, he slowly took a crumpled, scribbled piece of paper out of his pocket, pressed it against the wall, and stared at it with determination.

* * *

By the time Sissi returned to Room 404, breakfast had not only been retrieved, but also finished, cleaned up, and nearly forgotten. She narrowly avoided stepping in her own as she walked in, and resisted the temptation to kick it anyway. Martha had returned, and was playing with Hiroki and the Mermond girls, but the Mermond adults were gone. Luisa was catching a nap on her mattress. Takeo was also missing, leaving Akiko to sit by her daughter and brush her hair. Magali, Lucille, and Céline called enthusiastically to her when she came in, but she paid them no heed. She only followed everyone else's glances to her father, who was sitting on the edge of his mattress, patiently waiting for her to come to him.

"There must have been a long line at the bathroom," he said with disarming calm.

"Mhm," Sissi replied, quickly looking away from him. She sat down on her own mattress and turned her face toward the wall. It was cracked slightly, and a poster explaining Spanish emotion words hung next to the crack. She tried to focus on that for as long as she could.

She heard shuffling behind her. "One of the sisters came in looking for you earlier. Sister Grace, her name was. I told her you'd be back by noon, so she'll be back then to speak to you."

"About what?"

"About wha-" Mr. Delmas made an odd, strangled noise. "You know very well what I'm talking about. Sissi, come into the hall with me." He waited for a moment. Sissi did not respond. "Come into the hall with me," he repeated.

"You can go, I'll stay here."

"No-" He turned his daughter to face him. "I thought we went over this, Sissi. Nothing in the world gives you the right to make things more difficult for the people who are sacrificing everything to help us-"

"If she's coming back to punish me you don't have to do it for her," Sissi interrupted with a hard look.

Mr. Delmas made another strangled noise, and then, after some thought, a sigh. "No one needs to tell you that you can't _attack_ _the school nurse_."

"I did _not _attack her!" Sissi yelled, prompting almost everyone in the room to look at her. Mr. Delmas hushed her and gave an uncertain look to the rest of the room. Sissi continued in a whisper. "She could have crushed me to death– It was just a shower–"

"Yes, it _was _just a shower. Sissi-" At the sound of his words, Sissi's eyes went wide. She covered her head with her hands and let out a loud, forceful wail. Mr. Delmas was frozen for several seconds, debating the best course of action. Finally, he grabbed Sissi's arms and pulled her hands off of her face. Sissi stopped pretending to cry immediately, too shocked to speak. "Sissi, if you won't listen to anything else I say, please listen to this. No matter how…how things are, we can't lose our heads. Our sanity, our education, problem solving – they're the best things we have. Have you perhaps noticed that the Mermonds and Mr. Ishiyama are not in the room?"

Sissi looked up slowly and nodded. Mr. Delmas went on. "The school has caravans going into Dublin, and they're there now, looking for work. I would be with them, but…" He was interrupted by a loud roar from several floors below. Unable to speak to each other, the room watched in silence as several caravans rumbled off school grounds. "But, I have other responsibilities for today." His face grew hard. "We're never going to get any money for ourselves if we don't move forward, and if I have to stay here and indulge you every time you think you want to act out, then we may as well stay here forever."

Mr. Delmas looked over at the rest of the room. Both Martha and Akiko were giving him odd looks, but he ignored them. "Your breakfast is over there," he said with an air of finality. "I'm sorry if it's cold, but you do need to eat it. Then read a book, or play with the girls. Keep yourself busy. Keep yourself thinking."

He stood up – for him, the case was closed, but words bounced in Sissi's head, unable to find any real mooring. Entirely against her will, Sissi found her gaze drifting to where Akiko sat, still brushing Yumi's hair. Every time the brush went through her shoulder-length hair, her head would jerk back and forth, back and forth, again and again and again. "I'm not going to forget about it," she finally said. She began in a whisper, but her volume slowly began to rise. "Not about home, not about Boulogne-Billancourt, not about Kadic or the auditorium or Belpois or Della Robbia or Ul-"

"Don't insult me!" Mr. Delmas barked, silencing her again. His face had turned red in an instant. At this sound, Martha excused herself from the children and made her way to the Delmas camp. "I haven't forgotten, and I will _never, ever _forget. But there is a past, and there is a future. We can't think about both at the same time." [Everything is fine, Martha. Though, if you could go tell Sister Grace that my daughter has returned, it would be a great favor to both of us.]

Martha nodded to Mr. Delmas and left the room. Mr. Delmas looked from the door over to the Mermond camp. "The children don't have anyone to play with anymore," he observed. With that, he left his camp and moved over to the Ishiyama camp, leaving Sissi alone. He stood some feet away from Mrs. Ishiyama, and began speaking to her in low tones.

* * *

Intense! Now here are some translations:

"What was that man doing? Did he say anything indecent to you?"

"If he threatened you at all I will find the biggest man in this whole school-"

"Look at you. You're so upset you can't even lie correctly. I know the truth, now. You're not safe from the demon eye as long as his victims are around you." "The demon eye took his face and it took her soul, and you're afraid that the demon eye will take something of yours, as well. This is ridiculous. There will always be demons, but there will also always be fighters. You are a fighter, but if your energy is not put to fighting the demon eye I will be very disappointed in you."

"The girl."

"That woman was typing a report."

Bye!

- Carth


	5. Avenshire Academy, Part 1

Here is another chapter! It's a two-parter, so here's Part 1. I'll have plenty of time this afternoon to write, so I'm happy for that!

**Notes: **I also don't own the Society of the Sacred Heart, which actually does have a school in Dublin, but as it is an all-girls' day school (much like my own) you see why I invented Avenshire. A "screwdriver" is both a handy tool and a mixed drink (orange juice and vodka).

* * *

**Chapter Five  
Avenshire Academy, Part 1**

Avenshire Academy had been given over as a shelter for the homeless and destitute very soon after Ireland opened its borders to French refugees. The Society of the Sacred Heart, an old, wealthy organization with origins in France (and a safe Mother House in Italy), had put out an urgent appeal, as well as a share of money and resources, to all Sacred Heart schools and convents that could assist at least one hundred refugees in their time of need. Avenshire housed exactly six hundred and eighty-nine children and adults, bar staff, religious and remaining students, in peace, comfort, and stability, especially as relative to the military-run shelters of inner Dublin.

Where there is peace, comfort, and stability, there also follows uniformity, and every day at Avenshire was much the same with only the most unusual moments of memorable deviation. In the morning, Avenshire rose at various early times, taking showers and breakfast at its constrained leisure. At eight the caravans left for town, where adult or even teenaged residents could either look for jobs or attend the ones they already had. This left the young, the old, the infirm, and the babysitters to find their own occupations for the day, occupations which were, though varied, still limited. They could take walks, socialize, use the library, which contained both books and computers, use what they had brought with them, or participate in whatever (usually fairly underwhelming) "fun thing" the staff had arranged for the day. In the evening, the workers would return, meals and showers would again occur, and sleep followed fairly quickly.

After a short time most of the refugees could easily agree that Avenshire fit its purpose as a school – it was repetitive, numbing, even boring. But, they could also agree that it was a sanctuary, a heaven after danger and uncertainty of the homes they had left behind. So it stood that on the morning of January 6, or Epiphany to those concerned, Jean-Pierre and Élisabeth Delmas woke at about the same time, stared at the dirty, cracked ceiling that had greeted them every morning for precisely six weeks, and, in an act of respective curiosity and desperation, racked their brains for standout memories. Élisabeth found four, and Jean-Pierre found three, with two overlapping.

_

* * *

November 25  
7:35 PM_

"_Look what I've got," Marcelle said, pulling a pink, bejeweled mobile out of her pocket. _

_Anne was set to merciless giggles. "What are you going to do with it?"_

"_Oh, just text a few friends. Jerome, Gaston, Jean, Julien, Marc, Jerome, Gaston, Jean, Julien, Marc…" Marcelle grinned. "Lucinde is going to be very, very sorry she ever spoke to Michel. Lucinde is going to be very, very sorry she ever spoke to Michel. Lucinde is going to be very, very sorry she ever spoke to Michel."_

Sissi looked up from her paperback, frowning. She had been trying for almost a quarter of an hour to humor her novel, but the large amount of noise in the room found her so unfocused that she could not help but read the same sentences over and over.

Magali, Lucille, and Céline were playing a variation of hide and seek that involved much screaming and shouting. Every so often Sissi would find herself pinched and prodded and buried in pleas to play, but she never moved from her seat, or even away from her book. Hiroki was sitting across the room, playing Super Racer 2080 with the volume turned up all the way. Luisa was jabbering excitedly with an older woman sitting between her and Martha on her mattress. Martha had brought Luisa to the attention of the Spanish teacher who had held classes in Room 404, and they had bonded instantly. However, as Luisa spoke Spanish, the Spanish teacher spoke Spanish and English, and Martha spoke English, the room had to wait for Mr. Delmas's return from Dublin in order to understand anything.

Akiko and Yumi were the only quiet ones in the room. Akiko was sitting on her chair next to Yumi; not currently having any occupation with her daughter, she was reading a book. Yumi was sitting in her chair, hands hanging at her sides, staring just over Sissi's shoulder. The gaze was dead and listless, but very much determined, though from where no one could ever know. Sissi cursed her eyes for being the only thing she could lock onto, like a black hole. Her face contorted into a grimace, and she began humming very loudly, if only to fill her ears and brain with nose and make the eyes disappear. But it only intensified the power of her gaze, like the incessant hum of a hospital light…

Sissi threw her book to the floor, but attracted no attention for this act as the classroom door slammed open at about the same time. There was a short jumble of voices from outside, too twisted up to pick out one, and when they ended Matthieu stormed into the room, head down and face burning. Luisa's group and the Mermond girls fell silent at once; Hiroki did look up, but his Game Boy music still played.

"Dawdling," he muttered, perhaps rather louder than he intended. "Me, dawdling! If I ever see that Irish bastard again I'll…" His muttering trailed off when he saw his nieces looking up at him in much confusion. Immediately, a relieved smile flew on his face, and he bent down to their level. "Girls, come here, come here, please!"

The Mermond girls knew better than to stay away from their uncle when he was in so joyous a mood. Magali and Céline rushed to his arms, while Lucille checked his knapsack for presents. As this was happening, the rest of the Dublin party came in the door, looking tired, listless, and in most cases covered in a thin layer of grime. Both Mr. Delmas and Mr. Ishiyama looked very confused at Matthieu's behavior, but Sandrine and Mr. Mermond only tapped their feet, having seen this performance before.

"Who were you talking to?" Magali piped up, sounding derisive.

"Oh, just me, Maggie, just me." Matthieu's grin was only a step from genuine. "But that's nothing, girls. Guess what? I'm not going into town anymore. I'm going to stay here, and play with you." He paused for a second. "At least for a few days, maybe longer…"

"Were you fired?" Lucille cut in, still finding no presents.

"No," Matthieu said quickly. "I love you very, very much, girls, but you know who loves you even more? Your mom and dad! So go greet them, go on." He stood up so fast that not even Lucille could keep her grip and strode quickly over to the farthest mattress, where he sat with his face to the wall, head in his hands. Sandrine and Mr. Mermond scooped up their daughters as fast as they could; so practiced were they at this that only Céline looked back at her uncle in concern, but didn't have the words to say anything.

Mr. Ishiyama stared at this scene for a second, his scowl twitching, but turned away before anyone else could notice. He approached his own camp; as he did so, Hiroki turned off his Game Boy, stopping the music. He began talking to his wife in an unintelligible tone, and moved her brush away from Yumi's hair. This was all Sissi saw before her own father sat down on his mattress, next to her. "Evening," he said, sounding calm and casual.

Sissi looked over at him, made eye contact for a second, and then bent over to pick up her book. Mr. Delmas's eyes followed her down, and then back up. "Which one is that?" he said.

"_Cannes Prep,_" Sissi said, looking in her book for her page. "Fourth one."

"Fourth already?" Mr. Delmas, who had never known his daughter to pick up a book in her life, was bewildered. "You're going through those rather quickly."

"Yes, I am," Sissi lay back on her mattress, nose still in her book. "Because I am not to leave this room unless strictly necessary for five more days." She had adopted a sardonic tone for those words.

"Yes, I know that, and I still think they could have done far worse to you." He shuffled in his seat. "Did anything happen outside your book?"

"Ehhh."

"I see. Matthieu Mermond _was_ fired," he went on in an undertone. "Apparently an Irishman wanted a job just as he was walking by." Sissi did not respond. "I was under the impression that that sort of discrimination was illegal, but from what we could understand of him, it was just the sort of warehouse where he would get in even more trouble if he reported that he'd been working there." He paused. "I, ah, did get a job today."

Sissi couldn't decide whether to jump for joy or say something like "What's the point?", so she only nodded, and Mr. Delmas went on. "I'm working at a sales department of some sort. They were terribly surprised I could speak English, you know. They'd been getting French applicants in all day, and they wouldn't even let me near the front desk until I could prove I was fluent-"

"What exactly do you do?" Sissi interrupted.

"Oh, well, I answer telephones, do paperwork, that sort of thing."

"You're a secretary."

"Ah, basically."

Sissi gave him a hard look. "You used to _have _a secretary."

"Yes, Sissi, I remember that." Mr. Delmas lapsed into silence, and rested his head in his hands. Sissi, relieved that she no longer had to talk about immediate concerns, went back to her book. She was so determined to keep her eyes on the page that she did not notice Martha approaching the Delmas camp. She did perk up when she heard her father speaking again, but once she recognized his English, she immediately stopped listening. [Martha, you've been standing there very patiently. What is it?]

[Yes, Monsieur Delmas,] Martha said in her usual flat tone. [Sra. Yates arrived this afternoon, and Luisa wishes to speak to you.]

[Oh!] Mr. Delmas stood right up, buoyed by importance. [Excellent. It will be a delight to finally understand her. Just hold on-] He turned away from Martha. "Sissi, I'm off to speak to Luisa. Do you–"

"No."

Mr. Delmas stiffened, but kept his voice civil. "I'll be back in a few minutes, then."

"They should pay you to translate," Sissi said in a tone she hoped her father would not hear as he left. He didn't, and with Martha, he approached the Spanish teacher with a smile. [Are you Sra. Yates?]

[Oh, yes, I-] Sra. Yates was interrupted by a shout from Luisa. She attempted to stand up and greet Mr. Delmas, but about halfway up she clutched her stomach and sat back down. Thus crippled, she pointed excitedly at him instead, chattering gaily and grinning from ear to ear.

"Sí, Luisa, Martha me dijo que habla ingles. Calmate un minuto…" Sra. Yates put a hand on Luisa's shoulder, which appeared to calm her. They spoke placidly for several seconds before Sra. Yates turned back to Mr. Delmas. [She says, "Welcome home! It's wonderful that we can all understand each other now. I hope you found a good job, and your boss is…" oh, what's the best word for this… "I hope your boss is not an asshole."]

Mr. Delmas's eyes widened, but he couldn't help but crack a smile. [Ah, well then. I can assure you that he isn't…no need to worry about that. Thank you, and it is wonderful to speak to you too, Luisa.]

Sra. Yates repeated Mr. Delmas's words back to Luisa in Spanish. Luisa made a show of resting her chin in her hand, and began talking again, more slowly. Sra. Yates translated her speech after each sentence. [She says, "My full name is Luisa Maria Gabriela Delarosa. I am twenty-two years old, and I was a student of Spanish literature at the University of Barcelona. And now that you know about me, I want to know about you. I want to know about everyone in this room, if I cannot talk to them all the time."] Mr. Delmas opened his mouth to reply, but Luisa wasn't done. ["Multiple languages are a burden, I think. So many people are locked away from each other because they can't speak the same language. In a perfect world, everyone would speak Spanish."]

[She's more eloquent than I thought,] Mr. Delmas blurted out, looking distinctly surprised. [Ah, don't tell her that. If they haven't said, my name is Jean-Pierre Delmas. I'm…rather older than you.] Luisa giggled when Sra. Yates translated this for her. [I was the principal of a secondary school.]

["A professor!"] Luisa looked impressed. ["How appropriate for a school. Was your daughter one of your students?"]

[Never personally.] Mr. Delmas's voice was distinctly flat. [Not then.]

["When my son is born, and I can go back to Spain, I will make sure he has the best teachers. He will know Spanish, English, and French, and everything I have I will give to him."] She rested her hand on her stomach and smiled.

[Exactly, I quite agree.] He turned swiftly to Sra. Yates. [Has she said anything about the child's father?]

[I had not wanted to breach the subject-] Luisa must have understood at least "father," because she jabbered something very fast and shrugged. The teacher bantered back and forth with her for a time, then turned back to Mr. Delmas. [She says she doesn't know where he is, would not care either way, and will not say any more of him. She wants to speak to…do you know what a "see-see" is?]

[Sissi. That's my daughter.] He nodded to Luisa, and then turned away to look at his daughter, who was still reading her book. "Sissi, could you come here? Luisa would like to – what is all that noise?"

Sissi didn't hear the shouts until her father pointed them out, but once she knew of them, she was surprised she hadn't noticed them. Loud, masculine yelling could be heard coming down the hallway, followed by some hushed talk. The rest of Room 404 had already looked up from their own conversations, but Sissi only saw the door for a few seconds before it flew open with a slam. Three unfamiliar boys in Avenshire uniform come bounding in, whooping and hollering and waving their hands.

[Woo! Dance party!] The two boys in front bounced around all the space they could, repeating [Dance party!] over and over. Room 404 did not absorb their enthusiasm, but instead stared at them in as much confusion as they had when they had entered. As this continued, the third boy stepped up from the back, holding a torn piece of paper. He took a quick look around the room, spotted Sissi, whispered something to his companions, and turned the party to face her.

"Hello and good evening to everyone at Avenshire," the boy said in a thick Irish accent, reading off his paper in a slow, stilted manner. "Tonight, to welcome our fellow–" [Oy, it's Martha! Martha, you coming tonight?]

[No,] Martha said curtly.

[Suit yourself. Go back to watching paint dry or whatever it is you do for fun.] He resumed his message. "Tonight, to welcome our fellow students, we are holding a dance party for everyone between the ages of eleven and nineteen in the Avenshire dorms! It is super cool, wear whatever you want, dance and have fun!"

The boy had an enormous grin on his face, but overall the reaction to his message was not wholly enthusiastic. Mr. Ishiyama would not look at the boys, and instead shot a vitriolic glance at his wife. Luisa, who still looked confused, was whispering to Sra. Yates – "¿Qué dicen?" – who joined Martha in looking quite annoyed at the boys' intrusion. Matthieu looked up for only a second, and then looked back at the wall with a deep sigh. Mr. Mermond, who had, along with his wife, ignored the message on the grounds that it did not concern them, was surprised to find his oldest daughter tugging at his shirt. "Can I go, Daddy? Please please please?"

"What-" Mr. Mermond looked up at the older boys in horror. The boys had not given Magali any notice. "No, absolutely not. You're way too young."

"Come on, Daddy," Magali whined. "I'm _almost_ eleven."

"It's November, Mag. You're not going to be eleven for another eight months. That's my final word."

Sissi looked up from her book and into the boys' faces. They were all unfamiliar, but seemed to share the mentality of Gilligan and his friends, that being that they enjoyed harassing her – they were repeating "Party!" over and over, knowing no other French. Her memory was a maelstrom, and her face grew grimmer and grimmer as she struggled to keep them under control. First she saw Gilligan under the tree, laughing and cat-calling her about the dance. Then a dance itself, an imaginative facsimile of what it might have been like, strobe lights and noise and light in the auditorium and microphones and words and noise and words and…

[If you'll excuse me, my daughter's confined to this floor for five more days,] her father's voice cut in. He looked just as grim as Sissi did. [So even if she wanted to go to this event, she wouldn't be going. You may leave us alone now.]

All three boys were very surprised that Mr. Delmas could speak English, and the front boy was visibly unnerved. [Alright, okay. This won't be the last one…] His voice trailed off, and he stood awkwardly for a moment before one of his companions tapped him on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

[What?] the boy replied. [Oh, I didn't even see her!] He turned around to face the Ishiyamas, Yumi in particular. "Hey, you? Music? Food? Fun? It's super cool!"

Yumi did not make any indication that she was aware of the boy's presence, and kept staring forward as she always had. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ishiyama had identical sharp expressions, and even Hiroki's eyes were wide. The boys kept their positions for several seconds before their smiles and camaraderie faded. The two back boys took a step back, and the front boy blanched. [Hey, uh, is she oka-]

The boy couldn't finish before Mr. Ishiyama jumped in front of him, blocking his view of Yumi. He was panting heavily, and his face was livid. "Leave," he growled. "Leave right now, and _stay away from my daughter_."

The boys couldn't understand a word, but they got the message – they ran out of the room as fast as they could. There was silence for several seconds after their departure. Mr. Takeo sank onto his own mattress, looking exhausted. Like Matthieu, he had his head buried in his hands. "The nerve of them," he kept repeating. "The nerve, the nerve, the nerve…"

"Takeo, they couldn't have known," his wife replied. She placed a hand on his shoulder; Takeo did not reject it, but he did not acknowledge it either. Hiroki watched his parents with some trepidation, no longer paying attention to his game.

"I, uh…" Mr. Delmas began, before it became clear to him that the Ishiyamas weren't going to respond to him. Without hesitation, he turned to the next place he might be needed. "Perhaps it's time to go to dinner, everyone? Sissi?"

"Mmm," Sissi grumbled. She had collapsed onto her mattress, eyes wide open, her book dangling from her hand. She was looking right into her father's eyes, past his glasses, as if daring him to come and try to comfort her.

_

* * *

November 26  
10:45 AM_

Even with the addition of over eight hundred new residents, the shelves of the Avenshire library were just as silent and serene as they had been under the control of four hundred students. While the library was open to everyone in the building, most all of the books were in English. Many French-language works had been donated to the school, but the cardboard boxes where they had sat were now as empty as the library's one foreign-language shelf, the refugees having taken them back to their rooms to read.

By far the most crowded section of the library was the computer lab. There were twenty two-to-three-year-old computers sequestered in a small room at the back of the library, and every single one of them was occupied. A line of at least forty or fifty people stretched out of this room and across the library. Some were alone, and some in pairs, but all of them were impatient.

Mr. Delmas set his paper cup of coffee down next to the first free computer he saw. Before he sat down, he noticed the large sign atop his computer that read [NO FOOD OR BEVERAGES AT ANY TIME], with TEN MINUTES ONLY scribbled under it in pen. Without so much as a change in expression, he picked up his cup, walked across the lab to the nearest rubbish bin, and threw it away, coffee and all. By the time he returned, his previous seat had been filled, but another near the end of that row was vacated not five seconds later. He took this seat before anyone else could see it, grabbed the mouse, and clicked a small, red "UN" icon near the middle of the screen.

While the program was loading, he pulled a folded pile of paper out of his coat pocket and opened it up. Several names were written on the paper, something like a checklist. The pile was warped and stained with water damage, so, spying a pad of paper next to the computer, he tore off several new sheets and began writing down the names from the old sheet. He had written down about fifty names when a short _beep _told him that the program had loaded. A large black window had appeared at the screen, with **UN REFUGEE DATABASE SEARCH** written over several white dialog boxes.

"Here we go," Mr. Delmas mumbled. He took a glance at the first name on the list and typed it into the first dialog box. **NAME: THOMAS JOLIVET**. He waited for the computer to make the search. **112 results**. He made a narrower search – **NAME: THOMAS JOLIVET, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE. 3 results.** From here, Mr. Delmas could make his search manually. Only one Thomas Jolivet was a teenager, and his identifying information all matched. From here, Mr. Delmas looked right down at the area marked **CURRENT LOCATION**. A small amount of the tension in his chest loosened when he read **WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES**, and with a smile, he made a large check next to Thomas Jolivet's name on his paper.

Buoyed by his success, he clicked **NEW SEARCH **and began again – **NAME: ALEXANDRE PEPIN, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE**. As he waited for the computer to make the search, the seat next to him was vacated, then filled not a minute later. Mr. Delmas took a cursory glance at the new arrival, looked away, and then took a double take. "I didn't know you were coming here as well, Matthieu."

"What?" Matthieu did his own double take. "Oh, Mr. Delmas! I didn't expect to see you right here."

"Life is certainly full of surprises." Mr. Delmas looked back at his own screen. **3 results. **One teenager. **CURRENT LOCATION: CARDIFF, WALES. **He checked off Alexandre's name, hit **NEW SEARCH **and continued typing and waiting as he made polite conversation. "Is your brother's family outside, then? I'd heard that was your plan."

"It is our plan. I told them I was getting coffee." Matthieu began typing into his own boxes. "The…Japanese people are with them."

"Their name is Ishiyama."

"Mm."

Matthieu's face hardened as his first search began. Not willing to make anyone feel uncomfortable in this environment, Mr. Delmas went back to his own. In five minutes he made several searches, all students in safe locations. After clearing the search for **NAME: EMILIE LEDUC, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE, CURRENT LOCATION: LONDON, ENGLAND,** he noticed Matthieu taking a side glance at his screen, but looking away just as quickly. Mr. Delmas felt a tinge of awkwardness. "It's nothing personal," he said.

"Were those your students?" Matthieu segued into this conversation without any hesitation or awkwardness of tone – only a slight tinge of hurt.

"Yes, some of them." Mr. Delmas hit **NEW SEARCH. **"As many as I can search in ten minutes…of the names I can remember." He felt compelled to add, "I used to have a class list, but we lost it in Colwyn Bay."

"Huh." Matthieu shook his head, and turned back to his screen. After a minute, he began mumbling to himself. "Funny thing about my friends…I never thought it was a problem that I didn't know half their real names."

"Pardon?"

"I said, what's that name you just typed in?" He did a double take. "You had a student named Magali?"

Mr. Delmas looked back at the search he had just begun for **NAME: MAGALI DEVASSEUR, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE.** "Oh, yes, there was a girl in Sissi's class by that name. Not terribly common in that region…" **1 result. CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN.** Mr. Delmas's face blanched, and he hit **NEW SEARCH **before Matthieu could see the result. "But she's safe and sound. Safe and sound."

"Good. Good." Matthieu's voice grew darker and darker as he made his way down his own list. Mr. Delmas didn't want to spy, but he couldn't help but notice that the list was far shorter than his own, and did not have nearly as many check marks.

He looked over to the next name on his list, and shuddered when he saw who it was. Still, he did not skip over her – he never skipped over anyone. **NAME: PETRONELLE PASTEUR, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE. 1 result. CURRENT LOCATION: ROUEN, FRANCE. DECEASED.**

"Someone told me once that 'Unknown' means the same as 'Deceased,'" Matthieu said, again to himself. "Only with "Deceased," there's a body left to bury." Matthieu wasn't looking at Petronelle's result, so Mr. Delmas didn't know why he had decided to say that just then. But his time was ticking, and he had no time to dwell on it. He crossed out Petronelle's name for the third time and made his next search.

**NAME: TAMIYA DIOP, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE. 1 result. CURRENT LOCATION: BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM. NAME: MILLY – **He looked back at the sheet to find Milly's last name, and cursed under his breath to find that it had been blotted out. Not willing to waste any time, he moved on to **NAME: NICOLAS POLIAKOFF, **but his mind was on the little red-haired girl, little Milly. The closer he got to sixty, the more his memory failed, and he had no idea why he didn't remember this girl's last name. It was long, and started with an S, but the computer search was not forgiving to incomplete knowledge. He'd have to ask his daughter…but no…it even hurt him to remember her. As he watched Nicolas's result come up – **CURRENT LOCATION: BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM – **he at least hoped that she was safe.

He finished the students with **NAME: HERB PICHION, CURRENT LOCATION: IN TRANSIT. **Just as he had begun the faculty with **NAME: NICOLE WEBER, CURRENT LOCATION: LONDON, ENGLAND, **he heard a loud, harrowing scream from the end of the row. Everyone in the row turned their heads to look. Two sisters were trying to soothe an older woman who was sobbing and grabbing the sides of her computer monitor, shaking off every attempt on their part to comfort or remove her. "Your time is up," they kept saying. "Other people need the computer…"

"NO!" the woman shouted back at them. "No, I'm not leaving! I'm not leaving until that god-damn screen says my sister's alive!"

By that point, almost everyone had turned away in disinterest – they had seen the same scene too many times, all with different and indistinct faces. Jean-Pierre was included in this number. He looked right back at his screen and kept typing.

**NAME: JIM MORALÉS, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE. 1 result. CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN.**

Matthieu was not as composed as everyone else. His whole body was shaking, and he had an indefinite look on his face. Mr. Delmas saw this on a glance up from his screen to read the next name. "Are you alright?"

"No," Matthieu said, with an air of finality. His hand was shaking over the keyboard. "I have to…no, no, never mind."

**NAME: SUZANNE HERTZ, REGISTRY LOCATION: BOLOUGNE-BILLANCOURT, FRANCE. 1 result. CURRENT LOCATION: UNKNOWN.**

"Are you sure?" Mr. Delmas went on.

"What's it to you?" Matthieu spoke softly, as if he had only half-decided to say what he did. "Keep looking at your screen."

"I will," Mr. Delmas said. **NAME: ODD DELLA ROBBIA. No results. **

After some seconds' shaking, Matthieu made his search: **NAME: LOUIS DUPONT, CURRENT LOCATION: DUBLIN, IRELAND. **He sat back in his chair, but did not relax. In a few seconds' time, the result appeared - **92 results.** Matthieu squinted at the screen, swore under his breath, and closed the program without looking at any of the results. Without another word to Mr. Delmas, he got up and walked calmly out of the room.

Mr. Delmas sighed, and typed in the last name - **NAME: JEREMIE BELPOIS. 198 results. NAME: JEREMIE BELPOIS, CURRENT LOCATION: DUBLIN, IRELAND. No results.** And there he had it. Eighteen students safe, four unknown, Petronelle dead. Eight faculty safe, three unknown. Della Robbia and Belpois, nowhere to be found. Everyone else, waiting or forgotten.

With thirty seconds to spare, a new curiosity entered Mr. Delmas's mind. Quickly, he entered **NAME: FRANZ HOPPER. No results. **It was just as he had expected. Another name floated into his memory, someone else long-gone and invisible. But, no. France had been packed in bags and boxes and caravans, and every name in the caravans was cataloged. If she was alive, she was there…and he had to know.

He typed in the name, but just as he had begun the search, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see the same stern-looking nun, the Sister Grace, that had lectured his daughter. She was holding a ruler and looking very quietly cross. "Time's up, Mr. Delmas."

"Please, it's about to finish," he said automatically.

"Other people might need the seat, sweetheart," Matthieu's replacement commented offhand.

"Please," he almost whispered. As he did so, his result appeared. **NAME: ANETE OLIVIA HARP. No results.**

"And so it's finished," the stern-sounding nun said, tapping him on the shoulder again. "Time to go."

"Yes, I know." Mr. Delmas closed the program, which informed him that his searches had been destroyed. He picked up his new paper, got up out of his seat, and headed out of the library in search of coffee.

_

* * *

December 9  
1:30 PM_

Winter did not waste its time at Avenshire that year, blowing flurries in fits and starts like it might have otherwise. Instead, December's first snowfall dumped ten inches on the ground inside a morning, and even in the afternoon the blizzard showed no signs of letting up. A snow-covered Martha had come in at about noon to assure Room 404 that its working members would be sheltered in the caravans if they could not get home that night, but, with five other rooms for her to attend to, they had not had any further contact with her.

The snow had had something of a muffling effect on the room – it forced everyone to be calm and sedate against their will. Matthieu was leafing through the newspaper, which had only just arrived, and compulsively scratching at his arm. Sissi was at the moment engrossed in a particularly nasty incident in the sixth volume of _Cannes Prep_ (one which involved the abuse of screwdrivers of both kinds), and was trying her best to ignore everything else around her. Luisa had gone to lunch with the Spanish teachers, and was not expected back for some time. Magali, Lucille, and Céline, rather than running and shouting at their play as they usually did, were gathered around Hiroki's Game Boy, making noises that were inaudible over the ceaseless din of the tiny machine. Yumi was fast asleep, stretched out on her mattress with a sleep mask and earplugs, which left Akiko free to focus more attention on her son.

"For the last time, Hiroki," she said, standing over his little entourage with her hands on her hips, "You've spent all week on that thing! Turn it off and do something else."

The Mermond girls looked up at Akiko in surprise, but didn't have the bravery to protest a strange adult. Hiroki twitched, but tried to pretend for as long as he could that he could not hear his mother over the game music. Akiko shook her head. "Hiroki! Turn it off and do something else!"

There was a loud chime as Hiroki reached the save point – and only then did he look up at his mother. "But Mom," he whined, "there's nothing else to do."

"Nothing else – and what are you even doing? All you're doing is looking at a screen!"

"Yeah, and everyone else is looking at books." This sentence shattered Sissi's illusory bubble without any hope of repair. She grumbled to herself and held her book higher over her head to detract notice from her presence.

"Then talk to them!" Akiko sounded harried, almost desperate. "Go, play, run around! Please, just do _something_ – something that isn't so anti-social."

"If you don't mind my saying, Mrs. Ishiyama, I think the Game Boy has been more social for him than anything else." Matthieu looked up from his newspaper with a triumphant smile. "Look at the friends he's made with it!"

The Mermond girls giggled, which made Hiroki look even more stressed out. He scowled, made a low whining noise, and held his Game Boy out behind him to the girls without saying a word. He hadn't turned it off; the music was still blaring. Magali shook her head at it, looking confused, and Céline glanced at the ground, frightened into shyness, but Lucille grabbed the Game Boy without a second thought and began mashing buttons without any thought as to how the game was actually played. The other children immediately crowded around the game, yelling ineffectual advice as Lucille failed over and over and over.

"That-" Akiko looked like she wanted to protest, but with someone else's children involved she did not know how to proceed without being impolite. "Oh, go ahead if you will. But only until the snow stops!" She walked back to her chair by the side of Yumi's mattress, sat down, took the physician's notes out of her pocket, and read them over another time.

Over the next five minutes, without hardly realizing it, Magali, Lucille, Céline and Hiroki shifted across the room toward the Delmas camp. In those five minutes, Sissi had only moved ahead one page in her novel; Marcelle's parents hadn't yet gotten out of their car and Demi wasn't even done being stabbed. Instead, her mind kept pounding on the Game Boy sound, over and over and over – even now, when her punishment was lifted and _she _was asleep, the snow and her senses wouldn't give her a break. Silence was the best, especially the deserted silence of the Avenshire grounds, and words gave her something to focus on, but noise only wrapped itself around thoughts and made them worse.

She began reading aloud to herself in an attempt to block out the sound, but her own words eventually degraded into a long, low whine. Finally, before she could stop herself, she threw down her book and turned to the kids. "Is there anything you can do that doesn't make an ungodly amount of noise?"

"Sorry," Lucille mumbled, but no one in the group moved or touched the volume control.

"No you're not," Sissi said, softly so that the adults would not hear. She looked determinedly away from them to her book. "You little brats…"

Only Céline perked up her ears at Sissi's words. Her face grew somber, but as she didn't know what 'brat' meant she didn't know whether or not to cry. Instead, she did what came naturally – she picked up her bunny and walked over to Sissi, placing it on her lap without a word. Sissi looked down at the ragged doll, confused, then shot a glance over at Céline. "What do you want?"

"Her name is Maria," Céline said in a grave tone.

"So I've heard," Sissi said. "I told you, I don't want your doll. Keep it."

"She wants to be your friend," Céline went on unabated.

"No, she's a doll," Sissi shot back. "She's not alive and she can't have friends."

"Céline, don't bother Sissi, she doesn't like it," Magali yelled over without taking her eyes off the screen. Matthieu took a look up from his newspaper upon hearing these words, but seeing no blood, he saw no reason to intervene – but also no reason to look away.

Céline did not look hurt – only determined. "But she really really wants to be your friend," she said, slowly and surely to overcome her lisp. "I want to be your friend, too. But right now I'm busy. I need to watch them play penguins. Bop!" Céline smacked her fists together and giggled. "Penguins."

"What- 'penguins'?" Sissi caught a side glimpse of the game that the children were playing, and a strange, hot feeling rose in her throat. "Oh, come on!"

Céline gave a surprised yelp as Sissi shot up from her mattress and stomped over to the rest of the party. She knelt down by Lucille and grabbed the Game Boy right out of her hands, an event Lucille was too surprised by to fight against. Sissi took one look at the screen and snorted. "The penguin and the head move at the same speed," she mumbled just loud enough for Lucille to hear. "So you launch the head at full power when the penguin is closest to the launcher and they'll always land in the same spot every – time!" Sissi pressed down the A button and then released it. There was a jubilant series of beeps. "There, you see? MASTER GAME."

Hiroki rolled his eyes, as if Sissi's explanation had been the most obvious thing in the world, but the Mermond girls, knowing nothing about video games, were dumbstruck for several seconds. "Do it again," Lucille finally said.

"No, you play it!" Sissi barked with far more power than was probably necessary, shoving the console back into Lucille's hands. "Why does everyone have so much trouble with a simple game? You, my father…"

"Plantface plays Penguin Recapitator: Epic Mission?" Magali yelled – but it was too late. Sissi stomped back to her mattress, but she did not lay down. Instead she sat on the edge, head buried in her hands. Hiroki and the Mermond girls sat against the opposite wall, dumbstruck. Lucille looked down at her console, lip trembling. She held it out to Magali. "I don't want to play anymore."

"But I don't want to play either," Magali said, looking morose.

"Take the stupid thing!" Lucille tossed the machine to Magali and sat in a huff, imitating Sissi.

"Fine, I will!" Magali held the console for a second, and then held it out in Hiroki's direction. "Here, Hiroki."

Hiroki gave her a bewildered stare. "My mom won't let me play it."

"But it's yours. I'm giving it back."

"I don't want it. It's dumb."

"But…" Magali looked over at Sissi, who had not moved. Her eyes narrowed. She got up from her place and walked over to Sissi's, with Céline following right behind and Lucille and Hiroki watching at a safe distance. "Uh, Sissi, are you okay?"

Sissi did not move, which made Magali somewhat unnerved. "Sissi?"

Sissi twitched, ever so slightly. Then she giggled, then snorted, then finally broke out into an enormous laugh that made everyone in the room jump. This crazed laughter continued for almost a minute, to the point where Céline had stopped being frightened and had started to giggle along.

"S-sorry," Sissi muttered. She pointed at Hiroki and began speaking at a breakneck pace. "Hey, uh, you. Do you have any other games? Any games at all? Anything but the penguins, I hate the penguins. Any games. Please, any."

"Uh…" Hiroki looked at the strange older girl with some trepidation. "I have Star Racer 2080…and, uh…Pokémon. Red. Why?"

"I don't know, I don't even know. The racing one. Get me the racing one. Please, quickly!"

Hiroki's eyes widened, and he scampered back to his bag out of fear. Magali, too, looked quite frightened, but Céline was still smiling at the laughter, and Lucille was positively beaming. "Can we watch you play? Please please please?"

Sissi bit her lip as hard as she could. "Yes. No."

"Oh…okay, whatever. You know, you're really weird," Lucille said out of the blue. "But you're not weird weird, like Hiroki." Magali blushed bright red, but Lucille didn't notice. "You're cool weird, like me."

Sissi looked up at Lucille. Her short purple hair, cut with a few blond strands, struck an odd chord in her mind – first pain, and then, unexpectedly, mirth. "You remind me of someone I used to know," she said, more to herself than anyone else. "He had hair like yours. Well, no. No one had hair quite like he did. But he was like you. He wouldn't shut up, and he always tried to make people smile. But not me. I never smiled. Not once, not once…"

Lucille blinked. "Uh, you're being weird again."

"Sucks for me, then," Sissi said. "So where's this game? If I don't play it, I just might die. Please. I might die."

At that moment, Hiroki came and handed her the Star Racer 2080 cartridge. She jammed it in the slot, and before long, she was jamming at the buttons, cheerfully ignoring the four children making even more noise than before. The adults in this room watched this scene with some wonder – Akiko's eyebrows flew into her hair, Matthieu beamed, and even Yumi, who had just woken up, gave a well-timed blink.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed that! Here's some translations of Luisa and Sra. Yates:

Sra. Yates: "Yes, Luisa, Martha told me he speaks English. Slow down for a minute…"

"What are they saying?"

- Carth


	6. Avenshire Academy, Part 2

Hello lords and ladies! I'm sorry I couldn't update last Monday – I didn't know I wouldn't have internet for a week. So, here's Chapter 6! I'm about finished with Chapter 7 so that will be soon coming, along with a surprise that's already up, for anyone that's a SBT fan!

* * *

**Chapter Six  
Avenshire Academy, Part 2**

_December 25  
10:15 PM_

"_Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne!"_

Mr. Mermond gave a loud, rowdy shout as the song ended, knocked his plastic cup against his brother's, and planted a kiss against his wife's cheek. The room erupted into cheers and whistles, over which the knocks of plastic against plastic were not in any way audible, but still occurred with some regularity.

Everyone that called Room 404 home was gathered in a circle in the area in front of the door, as there was no Christmas tree, bar the plastic fir in the hallway. A two-thirds empty bottle of some unpleasant-smelling liquid, a completely empty bottle of orange soda, and a heap of empty plates sat ignored some feet away, piled by an open box with "404" scribbled on it in black marker. Everyone was in a cheery sort of mood; even Luisa and the younger children, who hadn't loosened themselves with drink, had enough optimism left to smile with the rest.

"Never thought that was a Christmas song," Mr. Delmas said, putting his plastic cup upside down on the floor. "Where I was it was always New Year's when we sang it."

"Wasn't it Chris'mas in that one movie, though?" Mr. Mermond said. "That one with the talkin' stars and the guy running round wishin' he wasn't born?"

"Oh my God, that movie still brings me to tears," Sandrine said, covering her eyes dramatically. "Every time, every time."

"'_Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!'_" Matthieu yelped. He had drunk somewhat more than one cup, and swayed a little as he spoke, but no one quite minded – they all laughed, especially his nieces, who were beside themselves at how silly their uncle could be. Only the Ishiyamas were entirely silent, as they had been for some time. Takeo and Akiko exchanged confused looks, Hiroki pulled at his shirt sleeve, and Yumi sat stock-still as usual, not even minding that someone had placed a Santa hat on her head.

Even though Sissi didn't get the reference, she gave a jolt, barely a chuckle, only because the scene was so absurd. She glanced down at her cup, and, seeing that there was no more orange soda in it, gave an exasperated sigh and turned to her father. "Daddy, can I go to bed now?"

"Hm?" Mr. Delmas looked confused for a moment, but smiled as he interpreted the situation. "But what for? No one else is going to bed yet. Are you tired?"

"Yes-!" Sissi began to snap, but thought better of it, lowering her voice to an uncertain waver. "No…it's boring. I'm not doing anything, and everyone else is just…talking."

"Just talking?" Mr. Delmas laughed slightly, with only a touch of melancholy, and held his daughter's shoulder. "But haven't you noticed? Christmas is the best time of the year for talking. Words, laughs, times together – they're the best presents we can give each other, even if the same words don't seem to mean much of anything any other day of the year." He gave a meaningful glance at Matthieu and his brother, who were trying to cheer Takeo and Akiko with much wild gesticulation and small increments of success, and at Luisa, who was chattering animatedly with Maria the bunny doll, much to Céline's delight and the other childrens' confusion.

"That's touching," Sissi mumbled. "Is that why you didn't get me anything?"

"No," Mr. Delmas went on without skipping a beat, "That would be because there haven't been fewer than twenty centimetres of snow on the roads since I received my last paycheck." He smiled an easy smile. "Once the caravans start running again, I'll take you into the city, and you can have anything you want. Ah, that we can afford."

"Right. Then, can I afford to go to bed? Because right now, that's all I want." Sissi didn't wait for her father to respond – and, even as she stood up from her place, he didn't have to. Magali, Lucille, and Céline jumped up from their places next to her and began pulling at her pant legs with a burst of indignant sound. Bewildered by the attention, Sissi turned to look at them. "What, what is it?"

"We want to know where you're going," Magali said.

"I'm going to sleep," Sissi said with easy civility, "and I can't do that when you're holding on to me like this."

"But it's Christmas!" Lucille yelled, getting the attention of everyone else in the room. "You don't have to go to bed until you fall over." She held on to Sissi's legs even more tightly, as if to prevent her escape.

Céline pulled forcefully at Sissi's shirt hem, leading her down to her level. "I'm going to stay up till the sun rises," she said, her voice so soft it could hardly be heard. "Mommy and Daddy said I could. I'm gonna watch the moon go up, up…and then down, down, down. And then I'm gonna see the sun rise all over the snow."

There were murmurs from everyone around her. At first, Sissi had the thought to pull away, but an odd feeling rose up inside her. "But what if you fall asleep?"

"But I _won't_," Céline insisted. "I won't."

"Yes, you will," Sissi went on, a grin beginning on her face. "You'll see, you'll be fast asleep before midnight."

"No, I wo-on't!" Céline gave a particularly strong tug on Sissi's collar, pulling her down even further. She sat down to recover from the blow, which brought a smile to her father's face when he realized that she was, in fact, sitting down. Everyone else, too, was trying to keep from laughing – even the Ishiyamas, bar Yumi. Only Céline was deadly serious, her little face contorted into a frown. Sissi, in her inexperience, couldn't see that a tantrum was coming, so Mr. Delmas, who had seen more than his share of them, leaned over to intervene.

"I've got an idea, Céline," he began. "How about you stay up all night, and Sissi will stay up with you to make sure you – I mean, so she _knows_ you can do it?"

"Daddy-!" Sissi began to protest, but it was too late. Céline's face split into a wide grin, and she sat right down at Sissi's feet, chattering to herself. "I'm gonna stay up all night long, and Sissi and me are gonna see the sun rise…"

Lucille looked perturbed at her sister's determination. "Well, if you can stay up, I'm gonna stay up too." She sat down next to Céline.

"Me too!" Magali sat down on Sissi's other side, forming a half-moon around her like a cage. This done, she looked over at the Ishiyama camp, ignoring her parents and uncle, who were biting their lips to keep from laughing. "Come on, Hiroki, don't sit all by yourself!"

Hiroki, who had avoided Magali's attention for most of the night, stiffened at the mention of his name, not to mention seven pairs of adult eyes on him. He sat with his arms crossed for several seconds, but eventually shuffled over next to Magali, looking more nervous than indignant. After some seconds' pause, in which some adult chuckles snuck out, Luisa, who had been quiet for some time, shuffled over and sat behind Sissi with a grin, and without a word.

It was such an odd scene, with Luisa and the children all gathered around Sissi, that the adults finally couldn't help but laugh, with laughs ranging from Takeo and Akiko's polite chuckles to Matthieu's wild guffaws. The children laughed along, not quite sure why they were laughing, while Sissi sat in the middle, embarrassed and bemused. The corners of her mouth were twitching, but she was trying her hardest not to smile. She felt safe and comfortable here, sitting in the middle of a group of strangers on the floor of an Irish classroom, but she had a duty to hate every second of it.

Mr. Mermond was the first to quit his laughter. "Hey, is there any more left?" He looked around and spotted the unpleasant-smelling liquid. "We haven' made any toasts, proper!"

The adults nodded and murmured their agreement, and Sandrine got up to get the bottle. She, Mr. Mermond, Matthieu refilled their cups, while Takeo, Akiko, and Mr. Delmas politely refused, and Luisa held out her cup only as a joke. Lucille and Céline only looked excited to copy their elders, while Hiroki turned to Magali with a confused look. "I don't get it," he said. "Where's the toast?"

"It's in the bottle," Magali said. "Liquid toast. Only adults are allowed to drink it."

Magali's words went largely unheeded by the adults. Out of them, only Matthieu heard them, and when he did he stiffened, his drink stopping halfway to his lips. Sissi turned to face Magali without taking one look at Matthieu. "Liquid toast?" she said, sounding incredulous. "What dumbbell told you that?"

"Dumbbell?" Magali said, sounding incredulous but not offended. "Uncle Louis is _not_ a dumbbell! He knows everything about bottled toast. Uncle Matt and him used to sell it."

Sissi made an expression that was somewhere between disapproval and amusement. She was just debating whether to tell her what was _actually _in the bottle when Takeo, who could now hear this louder conversation, interrupted her. "_Uncle_ Louis?" he said, looking right at Matthieu. "You never seem to stop mentioning a Louis, but that's the first I've heard him called 'uncle.'"

Akiko's teeth clenched at her husband's words, and Mr. Delmas raised an eyebrow – they knew as well as anyone that relatives were the worst of subjects with strangers. But, to their relief, the Mermonds reacted well. Matthieu did look somewhat tense, but his face was calm, if a bit confused. Mr. Mermond and Sandrine, on the other hand, both broke into wide grins. "Well," Mr. Matthieu began in response, "'Uncle' is what the girls called him. But us? We have a world of other names to choose from! Why, which one do you want to hear?"

"Was he another brother of yours?" Mr. Delmas piped in, further relieved by the Mermonds' present-tense response. "Or, Sandrine, was he from your side?"

Matthieu blushed dark red. Sandrine and Mr. Mermond made eye contact for just a second before rocking back, laughing even harder. "If you want to think he was my brother, Jean-Pierre," Mr. Mermond continued once he had composed himself, "Go ahead. To each his own!"

"Oh, Louis," Sandrine said lightheartedly. "A wonderful man, and always good with the girls. And not half bad with you, either!" She elbowed her silent brother-in-law in the side and laughed.

Takeo, Akiko, and Hiroki looked mightily confused, and Luisa of course had not understood a word, but when Sissi saw her father's eyes go wide she knew what he had understood immediately. A thousand comments flew to her lips, but she held them all back. Her father was not so discerning. "I see," he said. "Well, I apologize for the misunderstanding. Was he ever with you? I mean, your group?"

Mr. Mermond opened his mouth, but for the first time, Matthieu interrupted. "We lost 'im in Bordeaux. I mean," he tagged on quickly, seeing everyone's eyes going wide, "'E was taken on a different caravan. He's okay. He's in Birmingham." He looked back at his cup, his voice wavering to a mumble. "He's strong. He'll be fine."

"We still miss him, though," Magali tagged on, and her sisters nodded. "He was nice, and he and Uncle Matt always made each other smile."

There was a short silence in the room, and against her will, Sissi found herself struck by their melancholy. For the past month, Sissi had only thought of the Mermonds as a part of Room 404, as always existing in Avenshire. It was hard to remember that even they, with their smiles and blithe natures, had had to escape from France and live out of caravans and lose people and places… She thought on and on, and these thoughts only ended when Luisa, who was confused at everyone else's somber faces, did the only thing she could think to do. She held up her empty cup and yelled, "Feliz Navidad!"

The mood brightened instantly – everyone clapped and cheered as if their lives depended on it. "Oh, yes, yes, Feliz Navidad!" Matthieu turned sharply to his brother, grinning unexpectedly. "What's with all this quiet, Alec? Weren' you supposed to be making the toasts?"

"'Course I was, soon as you were done running your yap," Mr. Mermond said, not sounding at all surprised at his brother's change in mood. "Alright, everyone, gather round and mind your drinks!"

Everyone picked up their cups and held them aloft. Only Sissi, who noticed that only three of them were filled, hesitated, feeling stupid. "First, to Avenshire," Mr. Mermond said. "And all the good nuns and students that took us in when we needed it most."

"Especially Martha," Akiko had to add. "And a Merry Christmas to her." So they toasted Avenshire and Martha. Mr. Delmas gave Sissi a searching look, and so Sissi, not so determined as she usually was to begin with, tapped her plastic cup against her father's.

"Anyone else for toasts?" Mr. Mermond said.

"Oh, I am!" his wife piped in in a conspiratorial whisper. "Did you read yesterday's paper? The United States's raised the refugee ceiling. Four hundred thousand as of January first!" She raised her cup. "To the Americans!" So they toasted the Americans.

There was only murmuring for a moment before Mr. Delmas cleared his throat. "Ah, well…I'd like to toast the people of Boulogne-Billancourt. They've been brave, and they've suffered much…but they've survived, and they'll keep surviving!" So they toasted the people of Boulogne-Billancourt.

"Oh! Oh!" Lucille stood up. "Uncle Louis! I hope we meet him somewhere!" So they toasted Uncle Louis. Matthieu's toast was loud and strong, but when the moment had passed he moved back slightly, wearing something between a smile and a frown.

"And on that note, to all of Bordeaux!" Mr. Mermond said, so they toasted Bordeaux. "Any more?"

"Oh, yes!" Sandrine said again. "Luisa's child!" She pointed at Luisa, so that she could know that the attention was on her. "You have to toast a baby!"

So they toasted Luisa's unborn son, the children with much gusto. Luisa only understood that she was being addressed somehow, so he held up her cup and yelled "Feliz Navidad!" once more. So they toasted Féliz Navidad.

The toasts went on for several minutes, getting sillier and sillier as everyone got riled up. Soon, Takeo, who had been silent and serious most of the night, was toasting "Whoever fills the soap canisters in the showers, that he may be filled with generosity!"

"To Santa Claus!" Magali yelled. "I'm getting a Game Boy next year!"

"To France!"

"To Ireland!"

"To Room 404!"

"To friendship!"

"And finally," Mr. Mermond said, "To _them_!"

There was a shocked silence. Everyone stared right at Mr. Mermond, even Luisa in an attempt to fit in. "Yeah, that's right, to _them_," Mr. Mermond went on, buoyed by the shock. "Every single last bloody one of them. They brought us all together here today, but even as they did that, they took Bolougne-Billancourt and Bordeaux and France away from us. A mixed blessing, but nowhere near mixed enough. So I say to ya, may you be blown back to hell from whence you came!"

Mr. Mermond swung his cup backwards and knocked his fist into the side of Yumi's wheelchair. The force rocked her in her seat, roughly knocking her right ankle against the spokes of the wheel. Takeo stood up from his place and turned to Mr. "Hey!" he yelled. "Watch where you're-"

He cut off abruptly, looking down at his daughter. A thin, red sliver had appeared on her leg, and blood began beading up over the top of the wound. Most everyone else in the room exclaimed in concern – except for Akiko and Hiroki, who, upon seeing the blood, all turned white as a sheet. Hiroki whimpered and pressed his hands against his head. "Cover your ears!" Akiko and Takeo yelled together as they did so themselves.

Sissi and her father clamped their hands over their ears as fast as they could – but it was no use either way. A horrible sound filled the air, the loudest and most violent scream that Sissi had heard in her life. Yumi's whole face had contorted – her eyes and mouth stretched open as far as they could go, and were even straining to open wider and make even more noise. There was no sadness in the sound, or even pain – there was only force, the need to continue, the wail of a baby from the lungs of a fourteen-year-old girl.

Magali, Lucille, and Céline were bent double, pressing their hands to their ears to block out the noise. Luisa kept repeating something that Sissi could not hear. Mr. Mermond and Sandrine had rushed over to console their daughters, while Matthieu had remained rooted to the spot, staring wide-eyed at Yumi.

Takeo and Akiko were nowhere near as fazed. While Akiko ran to console her son, Takeo ran to his suitcase and began rummaging through it, pulling out a gauzy white cloth and a small black bag that looked like a makeup case. He opened it up and carefully pulled out a small syringe full of a yellow, plasma-like liquid. He knelt down by his screaming daughter and pulled her sleeve up, revealing a series of small, red marks on her upper arm. He wrapped the cloth around her arm, waited a second for a vein to pop, and then jammed the needle into the vein, far from the rest of the red marks.

Within seconds, Yumi's screaming subsided. She panted heavily for some time, her eyes wide and her body drenched in sweat. But then her eyelids began to droop, her breathing slowed, and very soon she slumped over, fast asleep.

The silence in the room was deafening. Everyone was looking up, staring right at the Ishiyama camp – at Takeo, collapsed on his mattress, at Akiko and Hiroki huddled around each other, and at Yumi, folded like a disused puppet. Only Matthieu was still hyperventilating, still daring to process what he had seen. Sissi was focusing all of her energy on blotting the scream away. It was too far, too far back…

In the midst of the silence, Mr. Mermond, looking far more somber than he had before, got up, walked over to where Takeo sat, and knelt down. "I'm sorry," he said, crushing his cup in his hand. "I'm sorry, I didn't…I'm really, really sorry…"

"We'll leave," Takeo interrupted him. There was a moment's pause. "We're leaving-"

"You're not leaving," Mr. Delmas said, standing up. "Not when you don't have any reason to go."

Takeo looked wildly from Mr. Mermond, to Mr. Delmas, to Matthieu curled up on his mattress, to everyone else looking up at him. Then he looked over at his daughter, who looked more lifeless than ever, and then ran out of places to look.

* * *

_January 3  
2:40 PM_

"_Sissi_," Lucille whined, "This is the _millionth _time we've walked around the dumb school. I wanna sit down."

"You don't have to follow me," Sissi looked back to say while still moving ahead. "Everyone else is playing up by the tree."

"But I got bored at the tree!" She rolled her head in exasperation. "Can you do something interesting?"

"Interesting…?" Sissi stopped and turned around, but still did not dare to kneel down to Lucille's level. A month ago she might have snipped at the little girl in the oversized coat plodding after her in the drifts, or even mocked her for her childish inability to keep up as soon as she had even dared to speak to her. But now, her words were toneless and tired, which was hardly surprising, as she had been walking in circles around the Avenshire building for almost an hour. With a little more energy, she might even have been friendly.

"Well, how about this," she went on, thinking for a moment. "How about… how about you and I have a race!"

"A race?" Lucille's eyes lit up for only a second. "Wait, in the snow?"

"Why, yes! That's the best kind of race." Sissi smiled at the ingenuity of her plan. "First one to the tree wins!"

"Cool!" Lucille, now fully convinced, jumped with excitement. "Wins what?"

Sissi's smile faded. "Well, I don't know, they just win."

"Can I win a dog?"

"No, I don't have a dog."

"That's okay," Lucille said. "When we go home, you can buy me a dog, and then you can come to my house and give it to me."

"Really? Are you so sure about that? Because you seem to think you're going to win!" The smile flew back to Sissi's face when she saw indignance fly to Lucille's face. "Readyset_go!_"

She took off as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Her initial speed turned out to be something of a miscalculation – she sank a foot into the snow about as soon as she began to run, and stumbled forward into the drift. This gave Lucille just enough time to speed right by, laughing gleefully as she passed Sissi without an issue. Sissi got up from the drift and stood still as she watched Lucille running farther and farther away, until finally she disappeared behind the wall of the school. She chuckled a little to herself and continued ahead, walking at a leisurely pace.

With the arrival of another short break between the blizzards, the Avenshire lawns were full to screaming with children and families. The families all sat at a comfortable distance from each other, with the parents either playing with the children or watching them from afar, while a gaggle of nuns wove in and out of a herd of orphans, breaking up fights and tending to all manner of injuries. Sissi was, on either end, the oldest and the youngest person outside; most of the teenagers had long tired of the snow, and had turned to sleeping to stave off boredom.

By the time the tree came into her view from behind the Avenshire awning, Lucille had long won, gloated over, and forgotten about the race. Instead, she was attempting to climb the tree itself, never getting any higher than the lowest-hanging branch. Celine was kneeling beside the tree, carefully sculpting a large, rounded mound of snow that was now almost as tall as she was. Several other refugee children were building mounds in a circle around her, creating an odd, knobbly ring around the tree. An enormous group of eight-and-nine-year-olds were having a snowball fight several yards away, boys versus girls. Sissi stopped near it just in time to see Magali charging out of the girls' fort, holding a clump of snowballs and laughing maniacally.

"Alright, knuckleheads!" she yelled out to the boys' fort. "Where's Hiroki?"

Most of the boys, terrified by this vision of icy death, either screamed or laughed and scattered. Only Hiroki remained, with the boys' entire stockpile of snowballs behind him. He did not say a word in his defense; he was not afraid. The two of them fell on each other with a barrage of throws, every single one of which missed. When the clouds of flying snow had cleared, however, Magali was out of snowballs, and Hiroki still had half a pile.

The girls were yelling at Magali to run, while the boys jeered at Hiroki to make a throw. But Hiroki hesitated – Magali wasn't retreating, and her smile hadn't faded. Instead of running from his throw, she leaned right over the foot-high fort and kissed him on the lips.

Sissi's eyes opened wide as dinner plates. The boys' jaws dropped, and the girls erupted into excited screams. No one noticed Magali stepping over the side of the boys' fort, claiming it for the girls – least of all Hiroki, who was running for the tree as fast as he could go. Halfway there, he tripped over a boy lying in the snow, landed face down in the drifts, and began pressing snow against his face, as if to wash off the kiss.

Magali did not notice this scene at all. Flushed with excitement, she bounded out of the fort and looked around for her teammates. She didn't see any of them – but she did see Sissi standing nearby, still in shock. Overjoyed, she bounded over. "Hey, Sissi!" she shouted that. "Did you see that? Did you see me?"

"Guh-" Sissi leaned over, not daring to kneel in the snow. Her face was burning bright, the worst escape of the anger rising in her chest. "You-what-but-why did you-"

Magali grinned and giggled again. Then she said, in a conspiratorial whisper, "I think Hiroki _likes _me."

"Wha-" Sissi shook her head, and when she came back into position, a frown had pushed its way onto her face. "But – what do you know about that? How old are you?"

"_Almost _eleven," Magali said with deadly seriousness. "And I know more than you think."

"Well…no! Almost eleven is still ten! And you can't-" Magali didn't understand what Sissi was getting at, but Sissi didn't notice her confusion. "Look at him! He's-!" Sissi looked over at where Hiroki had been, but he was gone – only the boy he had tripped over still remained in the snow. So she whirled back, finishing her original thought. "You can't just _say _these things if you have no idea what you're doing!"

"Oh. Well, I, um, then…" Magali's look slowly turned to one of proud embarrassment, one which she had just enough youth not to hide. "How do you know if a boy likes you?"

Sissi stood up proudly, as if this was the best question she had ever been asked. "Well, right now, you don't, because he's nine, and you're ten, and you really should just keep throwing snowballs to win fights. But when you're _my_ age, with luck and lots of expensive beauty products…" She looked sideways at Magali's average countenance. "When a boy likes you, he'll…"

Sissi stopped short, her mouth open. She had not actually given any thought to what she might tell Magali. Fragments shot through her head: _He'll kiss you, do nice things for you, be completely under your spell. You will be his life, his world, everything that matters, driving away the demons…_ Her face burned even more fiercely, and she pushed all of those thoughts out of her mind. "Well…you'll know when you're older. When it happens. When you're older."

Magali looked grim. "Does it have to happen when you're older? What if it's happening now, and I don't know?"

"It's not!" Sissi exclaimed, then immediately changed tune and shook her head. "I don't know. How should I know? You wouldn't understand."

"Sissi?" Magali's expression became terribly confused. "Sissi, you're crying!"

"No I'm not," Sissi barked, wiping the beginnings of tears from her eyes. "Help me find Hiroki. We're going inside."

She stormed off for the tree, her head turned toward the ground. She wasn't thinking at all about Hiroki, but about the thoughts and options and decisions that seemed always at the corners of her mind, but could be delayed if only she could just think about the snow, and the outside, and numb her mind for the rest of her life. She heard a loud shout behind her – "Hey!" – but convinced herself that it wasn't intended for her, and walked on. Still, the voice continued – and grew louder, following her. "Hey, wait! Hey – Sissi! SISSI DELMAS!"

Sissi hesistated, and in that hesitation, the person following her put a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around, hand up to strike, and, upon seeing that gesture, the boy backed away, raising his own hands in psychological defense. The empty, human-shaped impression in the snow just a few metres away told her that he had been the boy lying in the snow. He was wearing a dark blue greatcoat over his Avenshire uniform, but no hat and no gloves. Every exposed inch of him was sopping wet. He had a flustered look on his face to begin with, but when he got a good look at Sissi, he looked even more surprised. "You?"

It took a second for Sissi to recognize the boy through memories and wet hair, but when she did, her eyes went wide. "_Union Jack_?"

"Eh? I told you, that's not my name-" Union Jack shook his head for a second, as if confused, and then looked back at her with calmer determination. "Your name is Sissi Delmas!"

Sissi tried to keep at her previous level of calm, even as confusion was rising in her. "Why, did you just decide that?"

"Well, it's going to be hard for you to say it isn't, considering you hesitated when I called it."

"No, that was because you came out of-" She did a double take. "Hey, wait a minute! I never told you my name!"

"You didn't?" Union Jack hesistated. "No, no you did, but, did you…but your name _is _Sissi Delmas!"

"Yes, yes, congratulations, you know my name! What do you want?"

"Hm." Union Jack thought for a second. "Uh, how are you doing?"

"What?" Sissi hurriedly brushed her hand across her face in an attempt to get rid of any tears that may have escaped. "Fine, whatever. Why?"

"Oh, you know. The last time I saw you, Gilligan was all on your case about that stupid dance, and I was just wondering-"

Sissi gave him an incredulous look. "That was a _month _ago," she barked. "I'm not the kind of weakling that'd still be upset about that!"

"Did I ever say that you were? I haven't seen you since then, so it's the only point of reference I have!" He looked down. "Uh, there's a child next to you."

"What?" Sissi looked down to find that Magali had appeared at her side without so much as a sound. In that same direction she saw Lucille and Céline, who were now distracted from their games, trying to drag a scowling, withdrawn Hiroki over to the scene. But Magali paid this commotion no attention – she was staring up at Union Jack in awe. "Sissi, who's this guy? Is he your boyfriend?"

"Magali-!" Sissi had no time to reprimand her before her sisters showed up on either side – they had lost interest in Hiroki, who was now sitting some metres away, casting quick, frustrated glances at Magali. Lucille yelled, "Woah, he has a big coat! Are you a policeman?", Céline mumbled a timid "He's scary", and Magali finished her thought with "He looks like a movie star. Have you been in a movie?"

Union Jack couldn't help but laugh, not so much at the girls but at Sissi's inability to handle them. "Are they your sisters or something?"

"What, no!" Sissi cringed as the Mermond girls began giggling. "They're just random kids from my room. I had to go outside with them – you – go over there with Hiroki, I'm busy-" She tried to push the girls away to no avail.

"Oh, you're in a classroom! Right, of course…so you're here with your father, then?" Sissi's eyes went wide at these words, so he added, "And other members of your family?" but the damage was done.

"You don't know _anything_ about me," she mumbled before raising her voice. "Have you been stalking me?"

"What? No, honest, I…" Union Jack shook his head. "No, I just heard it. Really. I think."

"No, no, I don't need this!" Sissi stamped her foot in the snow in exasperation. "Come on, we're going inside."

The children, who had already been unnerved and confused by this conversation – didn't have to be told twice. They went ahead of her without checking whether she was following them. Soon, however, she was, after taking the time to give Union Jack one last dirty look. Union Jack looked still more confused. "Hey, uh- wait!"

Sissi stopped, but did not turn around. "What do you need, then?" he asked.

"What I need," Sissi hissed, turning her head, "Is to be left alone. And if you don't give me what I need, and stay away from me, my father, and what's left of my life, I'll make sure your Sister Grace does what I need!" She stomped off after the children, and disappeared under the awning. Union Jack was left alone again, his sodden coat chilling him in the breeze.

"They're so hard to understand," he mumbled to himself. With very little satisfaction gained, he shuffled back to his spot in the snow, lay down in the outline, and looked back up at the sky.

* * *

_January 6  
6:22 AM_

So it stood that on the morning of January 6, or Epiphany to those concerned, Jean-Pierre and Élisabeth Delmas woke at about the same time, stared at the dirty, cracked ceiling that had greeted them every morning for precisely six weeks, and, in an act of respective curiosity and desperation, racked their brains for standout memories. Élisabeth found four, and Jean-Pierre found three, with two overlapping.

Sissi turned over on her mattress and went back to sleep, her introspection vanishing in a haze of dark half-consciousness. Mr. Delmas, however, had no time for such comforts – he rose as soon as he was aware that he was awake, and searched his trunk for his clothing for the day. Takeo Ishiyama and Mr. and Sandrine Mermond were doing the same as himself, moving in quiet and rapid fashion so as to move to the showers quickly, just as they did every morning before work. Matthieu was also awake, but he sat up in his bed, looking over at his suitcase as if debating whether to follow them. Luisa and the children were still asleep. Akiko and Yumi were gone – Yumi was somewhat cumbersome in the shower, so she and Akiko were always out early.

Once Mr. Delmas had collected his effects, he placed them on his bed and turned to face his daughter's mattress. He knelt down and pulled her sheets back, as he did every morning. "Sissi," he said, not bothering to moderate his voice out of necessity, "It's almost six-thirty."

"Buh?" Sissi reopened one eye and stared sleepily at her father before she realized what six-thirty meant. "Oh, right, right…"

Slowly, she sat up and leaned over to examine her suitcase. Having nowhere to go, she had all the time she wished to ponder her clothes. With the unusually warmer weather over the past two days, Sissi was set on choosing one of the lighter, more stylish tops she had bought on her Christmas excursions to her father, rather than being confined to the ugly donated sweaters she had depended on for warmth. It took her some time to choose between a green tank top and a pink top that was almost like one she had lost some time ago – practically identical, even if it was missing a heart on the chest. It didn't take her long to choose the green tank top, so she began digging for a skirt and pants to go with it.

She had only just found one skirt when she heard the room door opening. She didn't give this much mind – the adults had to go, after all – until she heard an uncomfortably familiar voice from the outside. "Oh, good morning! I was about to knock on that."

Sissi whipped right around, still holding the skirt in her hands, unable to understand what she was seeing. Union Jack was standing about a foot beyond the doorway, blocking Mr. Delmas's exit. He looked much the same as usual, except that he wore his dress shirt without his sweater vest, held a thickly-stacked clipboard, and had a far more professional expression on his face. He hadn't noticed Sissi, or anyone else in the room besides Mr. Delmas.

Sissi couldn't see her father's face, but she sincerely hoped he looked at least somewhat annoyed at the intrusion – especially as they were all in their pajamas. But when he spoke, though Sissi could not understand a word, she thought he sounded confused. [Well, you've caught us as we were about to leave. Is there something we should know about? Is Martha ill?]

Union Jack took a quick look down at his clipboard. "It's alright, Mr. Delmas, I'm fluent in French. I do have a message, but no, she's not ill. Quite the opposite. Ahem…" He flipped through a few more pages on the clipboard and pulled out a neat, clean sheet of paper. "'We respectfully inform Rooms 400, 402, 404, and 406 that their assistant, Martha Flynn of the sixth form, has been removed from Avenshire per her family's wish to keep her at home following the Christmas holidays. A replacement student or faculty assistant will be assigned shortly.'" Union Jack folded the notice and put it in his pocket. "So, yes. I'm Martha's replacement for Room 404. William Dunbar."

Everyone was paying close, if quiet attention now, even Luisa, who was just stirring. "Oh, well, we will miss her terribly. She was a very helpful young lady. But it's good to have you with us now, William." He held out his hand, which William took to shake. "Your French is quite impressive."

"Thank you," William said with some awkwardness. As he let go of Mr. Delmas's hand, he noticed Sissi, but she gave him such a nasty look that he turned right away. "I see you're all about to leave…if there's anything anyone needs I'll get it, but if not I'll attend my work in the gym and be back in an hour or so."

* * *

So how many of you saw that coming? If I told you it doesn't count.

- Carth


	7. Silence

I don't think I have anything to say for myself. Except for this chapter. So please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Seven  
****Silence**

_January 6  
__8:27 AM_

When William Dunbar returned to Room 404, the caravans into Dublin were just about ready to depart, and as such the door was open to a great frenzy of rushing adults. Mr. Delmas was standing next to his camp, stuffing papers into a suitcase and mumbling to himself. Takeo was standing next to the mattress where his wife was sitting, having a heated discussion with her in Japanese. Sandrine and Mr. Mermond were trying to hand Lucille, who was buried, wailing, in Sandrine's chest, off to Matthieu, but from the exasperated looks on her parents' faces it was clear that she was proving somewhat difficult to remove.

Before William could get a second look at the scene, Mr. Delmas dashed out, followed by Mr. Ishiyama, and then some seconds later by the Mermonds. With only the quickest greeting from Mr. Delmas – "Mr. Dunbar, good morning! I have to run, but I'll be sure to speak to you in the evening" – no notice from Mr. Ishiyama, and a "Hey, uh, you" from the Mermonds, they all ran out the door and down the hall, having only three minutes to tackle four flights of stairs.

"Yes!" William called after their retreating backs. "I came at…the wrong time, again." He got no response from the work-bound adults, who had all disappeared through the hall doors. He looked after them for a moment before looking back into Room 404. "Though I suppose now I can actually go inside." As per his job, he invited himself into the room.

No one had acknowledged his presence in the doorway before he entered the room, and following his entrance he was not noticed right away. He took a quick look around to decide his next move. The Mermonds, situated right in the center, caught his attention first. Alec – no, Matthieu, Alec was the father, the one had just left for work – Matthieu struggling to calm Lucille, who had accepted her uncle's chest as a substitute for her mother's, and was sobbing into it with great gusto. Magali was standing next to them, awkwardly patting Lucille's shoulder every so often. Céline was looking down, playing forlornly at the edge of the Mermond camp with Maria.

He made this survey as fast as he could before turning to the left, looking at the Delmas camp with a burst of adrenaline. This excitement pounded in his head, with nowhere to go, when he saw their camp was empty – Sissi's clothes were strewn all over her mattress, but she was nowhere to be found. He stared at her empty mattress rather longer than he aught, given there was a crying child in the room, as if his stares would bring about a confrontation. This was interrupted, however, when he heard a young girl's voice right by his side. "Hey, uh, you!"

William looked down in the direction of the voice. Magali was about a foot from his side, repelled by shyness, looking from his face to his clipboard in accepting confusion. "You're the new guy?" she said very fast.

William nodded before he spoke. "Yeah, that's why I have this clipboard." His tone was hardly engaged, but he had no reason to ignore her. "Do you need anything? Or, your sister...where's Sissi?" he added before the opportunity was lost to him.

"Oh, taking a walk, I think. She does that _all_ the time," Magali replied, flushed with excitement and wild assumptions about his request – though not for very long, as she had not forgotten her purpose. She looked over at her family's camp. "Lucille's been crying since breakfast."

William looked over at the Mermond camp. Matthieu and Céline were looking up at him with very different expressions – Céline was wide-eyed, and Matthieu was twitching, as if he couldn't decide whether or not to smile or speak. He looked down at Magali, nodded automatically, and walked ahead of her over to Matthieu and Lucille. "Uh, anything I can do here?" he said, bending down to Lucille's level.

Lucille paid him no mind, but Matthieu adopted a cordial smile. "Oh, that's kind of you, but I don't know if there's anything that we haven't already tried. She'll calm down, she always does. It's best just not to say anything." He ran his hand through her hair.

William furrowed his brow. "Are you sure?"

Matthieu's smile faltered. "It's nothing that serious," he went on quietly, not entirely answering William's question. "Just a nightmare."

"I see." William straightened up, looking more indignant than concerned. "Tissues, then?"

"Tissues would be excellent," Matthieu said, sounding relieved.

William turned away and walked over to the far windowsill, where a box of tissues was sitting. Magali got up and ran over after him, passing him just as he was halfway through pulling up a tissue. As her mattress was right next to the tissue box, she made a show of leaning over, picking up a book lying on her bed, and holding it up over her face while looking in the opposite direction. "Uncle Matt doesn't like it when we think about…why we had to leave," she whispered.

William stopped mid-pull as Magali went on. "We were all talking about dreams at breakfast. And Lucille started crying about…about how she didn't want _them_ burning down our house…" She had a very long pause, during which William pulled out more tissues, resisting the urge to look at her. "I'm not afraid of them," she said very fast. "I'm not afraid of them. It's a waste of time to be scared for no reason. That's what Uncle Matt said…but Lucille forgets."

William had pulled out about half of the tissue box. Realizing this, he picked up the rest of the box before turning to face Magali, whose face was still blocked from his view. "You're not fooling anyone," he said, so low that only she could hear.

Magali looked up from the side of her book, wide-eyed and red-rimmed, but did not have the time to make any response before Matthieu, who had only just looked up from Lucille to see where Magali had gone, spoke with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Magali, what are you reading? I'd like to see it."

"Oh! Coming!" Without so much as another look at William, Magali ran back over to her uncle and her sisters. William, realizing that he still had to deliver tissues, followed after her.

As he moved back, he could not help but take a casual glance around the side of the room he had not yet seen. There was one woman – Luisa, the pregnant one – asleep on a mattress between the Mermond camp and another clump of mattresses, where three people were calmly ignoring the Mermonds. Ishiyama, he thought. Ishiyama. Akiko Ishiyama was up in her seat, calmly reading the newspaper, and Hiroki Ishiyama was over on his mattress, dividing his time between playing his Game Boy and casting confused looks at Magali. And then, sitting motionless between them in the wheelchair of which he had been cautioned, there was –

William set both the half-empty tissue box and the ruffled clump of tissues on the mattress next to Matthieu and the girls, then sat down on the floor next to the mattress. Matthieu picked up a tissue from the clump and gave it to Lucille, who was now only sniffling, and dried her face herself. This taken care of, Matthieu looked back over at William, a smile firmly on his face. "Well, thank you for that. We didn't need so many tissues, but they should be…useful. Are you all right?"

If William had enough awareness of Matthieu left to hear him, he gave no indication. He didn't even give any thought to the social _faux pas_ that could come from staring at a wheelchair-bound girl without any discretion. None of them were looking at him, _she_ wasn't looking at him, he knew she couldn't, the sheet had said so. But with every new part of her that he noticed, from the fall of her hair to the bony wrist hanging out of her sweater, a hot feeling rose in his throat to meet his brain. He raised his hand to his temple, as if to stop the spread, but his fingers only ended up trembling against his skull. "Fine, fine, I'm fine," he said, knowing he was lying, but not how or why.

"Are you sure? You look faint," Matthieu said loudly, glancing at the Ishiyamas, then moving his eyes away before they could notice. On observing this, Céline got up, walked across the camp to his mattress, threw Maria on his lap, and stepped up so that his ear was at her mouth level. "You shouldn't be staring," she whispered.

"I'm not staring," he mumbled without looking at the bunny or tearing his eyes away from Yumi. "But that's…who is that?"

The door slammed open over his last three words. Luisa's eyes snapped open, and she gave a vague, disoriented "¿Es otro terremoto, Pablo?" William didn't give this any mind, and couldn't think to look up until Akiko and Magali called out "Sissi!" at the same time. At that, however, he snapped to attention. Sissi was standing still in the doorway, shivering with her arms crossed over her bare shoulders. The cuffs of her pants were sodden, and there was a small clump of snow in her hair.

She looked right at Akiko as she entered, grimacing. "I thought you said it was going to be warm!"

"Oh! Well, I only said what I read in the newspaper, Sissi," Akiko replied, trying to calm her with a smile. "I haven't been outside today."

"Well, I have," Sissi said, making a show of chattering her teeth. "And there isn't supposed to be snow when the temperature's above freezing!" She didn't wait for anyone to answer her question. She stumbled over to her own camp and began sifting through her belongings, first pulling out a winter coat, then digging deeper into the black hole of her suitcase. "Where is it, where is it…"

William looked from Sissi to Yumi back to Sissi, and shut his eyes for a second. After some seconds, he reopened them, stood up from his spot, leaving his clipboard behind, and took some steps toward the Delmas camp. "Uh, hey," he began. "Need any help with that?"

Sissi stopped cold in the middle of her digging and slowly turned round to face William. "Did I say I needed any?"

"No you did not," William said just as coolly.

"Then there's no reason not to be a good little room lackey and stay put until you're called." Sissi shooed him with her hand before realizing, far too late, that that hand happened to be carrying a bra. She blushed red, grumbled, and turned back to her luggage.

"Well, with that attitude, don't expect me to be in earshot." William turned around and walked away.

If the Mermonds, Ishiyamas, and Luisa had picked up any indication that William or Sissi were at all threatened by each other, they certainly would have spoken in the defense of one or the other, but as it was, they were fighting back laughter. Even Lucille had recovered, and was giggling between hiccups. William picked up his clipboard when he reached it, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," he mumbled to himself.

"Sissi always wakes up on the same side of the bed," Matthieu said. "But the bed moves during the night." The girls giggled a little, even though only Magali understood what her uncle had said. Lucille and Céline were laughing at the thought of a bed moving. "I'd warn you about what you're getting into," he went on in a low tone, largely to himself, "but it seems you already know. Well, if that appeals to you, I wish you the best of luck."

There was another loud slam as Sissi entered the closet to change her clothes. "I have to go," William grumbled. He turned away from the Mermonds, as he had no further interest in them, and headed for the door.

Luisa was gathering the clothes she wanted to wear that day, but appeared to be managing herself well, so William felt no need to help her, though he did give her a confused nod when she asked "¿Porqé tienes el portapapeles de Martha?" As he passed the Ishiyamas, he found himself looking back at Yumi. It wasn't the wheelchair that caught his eye, he considered. The wheelchair was nothing, brought nothing to his mind. It was everything else, he decided. The eyes were all wrong. But why were they wrong? Not because they were unusual in comparison to any other human, but…

"Hello," he heard suddenly. He noticed suddenly that Akiko was looking up at him, wearing a forced smile.

"Hey," William said absently.

"We're alright for now, thank you," Akiko said. Hiroki had also looked up from his game, but said nothing. He only stared at William, wide-eyed as Yumi had been.

"Right." William looked forward and left the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. The room was still after his exit. The Mermond girls' whispers were the only sound in the room, and the only movement came when Luisa left to use the bathroom. After a moment or so, the closet door open, and Sissi re-entered, now wearing her winter jacket and a pair of thicker pants. She took a quick sweep of the room, deduced that William was no longer there, and instead gave the open door an uncertain look.

"The hallway's empty, Sissi," Matthieu called from his post. "If he was there, Luisa would have seen him."

"Thank you," Sissi mumbled. She pulled her hood up over her head and walked slowly out the door, closing it behind her with a soft _click._

* * *

_January 6  
__12:50_

With the regular lunch hour almost over and the second only just about to begin, there was hardly anyone in the cafeteria lunch line, and even fewer people at the lunch tables. Still, the line was long and the cafeteria noise unbearable. Sissi was more used to eating in the calm and unharried atmosphere of Room 404, but given the events of the morning, any contact with anyone that would happen to be sitting there would have been unbearably awkward for her. So, instead, she chose to eat where she often had before, in the dead silence of the first-floor gym hallway, sitting atop a stranger's mattress.

The children of the gym area all lunched at the noon hour, and those that were not at lunch were either in the gym, which was more of a social hub, or outside. Those few children that were lying on their mattresses in the hallway were sleeping sound as rocks. Some children passed her by, but none of them paid her any mind. For the most part, she was alone.

She took a bite out of her ham-and-cheese sandwich, tasted the same dry taste she'd called lunch for the past two months, gagged slightly, and set it down, reaching for her chips instead. She stared straight ahead as she ate, studying the girl in the mattress in front of her. She tried to scoff at the awful grey pajamas that she was wearing, only to remember halfway through her ecstasy that she had worn just such a set a week earlier for warmth. After that, she stopped trying to think, and instead focused on her food. It was easier for her to have nothing to think about than to dwell on having nothing to think about.

After some minutes, a set of footsteps stopped just short of her line of vision, and a soft bounce indicated that someone had sat down next to her. She didn't have to look to know who it was, and, if she was right, didn't want to pay him the courtesy of a glance. He didn't oblige her. "This seat taken?" he said.

Sissi didn't respond, so William went on. "I'll take that as a no." She heard him unwrap a sandwich. "I'm happy to see you, too, thanks for asking."

"Piss off," Sissi said, still not looking at him.

"Really?" William said. "I had no idea you didn't want me around. Maybe you should say it again, so I'll remember."

"If you know it so well, then why do you keep following me?" Sissi snarled. "I thought I told you not to come until you were called."

"I think you give yourself a little too much credit," William said. "First, no matter what that clipboard says, I can decide for myself whether I want to do what you say. Second, you're the one who shows up wherever I happen to be. Are you sure you're not following _me_?"

"I don't have to listen to you."

"No, no you don't."

"Then I won't."

"Then don't."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Neither of them spoke for a long time. They munched quietly on their sandwiches and stared together at the same bit of blank wall. Once this meal was done, William was the first to speak again. "How do you know Denise?"

Sissi did not turn to face him, but her eye did slide sideways. "Denise?" she said slowly.

"This is her bed you're sitting on," William said.

"I didn't know that, I'm just sitting here. Is Denise some friend of yours?"

"Nah, not really. I just know a lot of names. I've been working down here since November."

"Yes, clearly," Sissi said. "You're working just about every time I see you. Loitering outside, lying in the snow… real hard work right there."

"I take breaks just like anyone…if a few more than most." He grinned at her, but her expression did not change. They were silent for several more seconds before, to Sissi's surprise, the grin faded from his face. "Hey, I have a question. Well, some questions."

Sissi tensed. "What?"

"That girl in your room. The one in the wheelchair. Y-something. Yumi." William's usual confident tone was wavering slightly, and he made long pauses between sentences. "What do you know about her?"

Sissi flinched, and her eyes went wide – which, in turn, caught William's attention. Sissi's brow quickly furrowed, and she shuffled away from William. "Nothing," she said at top speed. "I don't know anything about Yumi. I don't talk about her, I don't think about her, I don't care about her. Don't ask me again."

"You've lived with her for-" He hesitated. "-two months and you don't know anything about her? Her mother knew you by name."

"That doesn't say anything about Yumi," Sissi snipped. "If you're so desperate to know, why don't you ask her?"

"You know more than you want to tell me," William said definitively.

"I don't have to tell you anything. In fact, I could get up right now and report you for abuse."

"But you're still sitting down."

The message was clear. Sissi shifted in her seat, then looked William directly in the eye for the first time. "She's dead. Brain-dead. Dead."

"That much was obvious. Do you know why?"

"Escape injury. A…a thing fell on her." Sissi's voice dropped to a low mumble at the last sentence.

"I see." William's expression did not change. "Do you know what she was like before?"

Sissi's face hardened. When she spoke, her voice was tinged with panic. "What- where did that come from? She was just a person, what do I know? And why is it any of your business?"

"You're being awfully defensive for someone you don't care about."

"And you're being awfully nosy about someone you don't know."

"Then we're both suspicious." William grinned. "I wonder which of us will cave first."

Sissi turned away without replying. She left the crust of her sandwich in its bag and threw it to the side, leaving her free to wrap her arms around her knees, pulling them in as if to make herself smaller. In contrast, William stretched his legs out in front of him, and rested one hand under his chin while the other drummed casually against his left pocket. Neither of them took any notice of the other, but neither of them left.

The noise of the hallway faded to a blur in their ears. When a familiar voice said [What the-?] in the distance, it only blended with every other sound in the hallway, and neither of them noticed. But, before long, William and Sissi both heard footsteps drawing closer, and, to their great dismay, a large, round shadow fell over the both of them. [Jack!]

Both William and Sissi started; William looked up, while Sissi stared resolutely at her knees, determined to ignore the situation. [Wotcher, Gilligan?] William said, sounding bored for all Sissi cared.

[Wotch her? I'll say!] Gilligan laughed, a low, boorish laugh that made Sissi cringe. [Union Jack, you little _shit_! What's poodle-skirt doing around you without me knowing about it?] He knelt down to their level, moving his shadow. Sissi titled her head lower, determined not to look up.

[Oh, whatever she wants,] William replied. [Sitting, sulking, that sort of thing. To be quite honest, Gilligan, she's not really all that interesting.]

[You're nothing to look at either,] Gilligan snapped before turning his full attention to Sissi. [Ay, poodle skirt!] he yelled. [Wake up!]

"Ignore him and he'll go away," William muttered to Sissi, but she was not the only one to hear. [Jack, this is Ireland, we don't speak French!] Gilligan pushed himself closer to Sissi, stopping within inches of her face. [C'mon, poodle-skirt, alley-oop.]

Sissi felt his hot, fetid breath on her face, and looked up reflexively to avoid it, but instead met her attacker in the eyes with a grimace to match her glare. She did vaguely remember Gilligan; not his name or anything else unimportant, but his bristly red hair, freckles, and pug-like face were all familiar. She couldn't help but notice that he was somewhat fatter than he had been two months earlier, and his eyes were glazed and unfocused. His entourage, whose names and faces she could not remember, were nowhere in sight.

[I should have known,] Gilligan said, slipping poison into his words for William's benefit. [All these months and you've still got that _face_ on. What's the problem? Are you too good for me? Are we _all_ too good for you?]

[Leave her alone, Harvey,] William said, but Gilligan went on over him. [I can't understand why you aren't standing up when I say stand, poodles. You have nothing over me. Nothing at all. Not even your pretty little face. You're in _my_ house, and I'm the one keeping that face alive. I don't have to do that, you know. I don't have to _tolerate_ your attitude. I don't think you know what you've got, do you? No, no you don't. We could throw you right back to the laser turds, you know that?]

William's body tensed. [Gilligan, if you're not out of my sight in five seconds-]

[And YOU.] Gilligan whipped round to face William, a sickening grin spreading across his face. [Go on, Jack, you know what I'm talking about. Tell her everything. Tell her or I'll beat you raw.]

[What happened to not being rough in front of girls?] William's composure was remarkable, even when an angry chuckle escaped his lips. [Christ, Gilligan, you're done. Go curl up with another cheeseburger and leave us alone.]

Sissi gave the smallest of chuckles at the word "cheeseburger", but Gilligan was not so gracious. [You-you do NOT talk to me like that!] He stood up, placing himself as far above William as he could. [You'll be just like them soon, you've known that for a long time. What makes you think you're better than me?]

[The fact that I'm not reduced to threatening people to compensate for things I can't control?] William said coolly.

Gilligan raised his fist, and Sissi's eyebrows flew into her hair. But, to her surprise (as she did not understand the situation in the slightest), he did not send it flying. Instead, he looked at it for a moment, a look of terror crossing his face. Then, he lowered it. [You're a freak, Dunbar,] he said, trying to sound threatening, but instead coming off as defeated. [A freak. I don't even care anymore, and why the hell do I have to? It's over. They'll kill us all in the end.] He turned around, making sure to step on William's right shoe. [And when they come and fry me, well, I'll taste a hell of a lot better than you.]

He took one last look over his shoulder, right into Sissi's eyes. "Go fuck yourself," he said with the only French he'd bothered to learn, then ambled back down the hallway and disappeared round a corner with a sigh.

Sissi turned away from this corner and looked directly at the wall, still silent. William joined her at first, but soon chuckled, then broke out into a full belly laugh. "Oh my god. I can't believe we kept straight faces at all. Ordinarily I'd deck him for saying that to you, but I guess even you can see that he's not worth our time."

Sissi didn't answer. "He's done," William continued. "He's told me he's going to kill me every day since first year, but he only figured out about a month ago that no one takes him seriously anymore. And look what it did to him." He looked over at Sissi, but his smile faded when he saw her. "Hey, uh, you okay?"

"I didn't care."

William raised an eyebrow. "About...?"

"I couldn't understand him. I didn't care."

"Well, neither do I. Forget Gilligan, he's-"

"I'm done." Even though Sissi had not moved during her entire encounter with Gilligan, her eyes had grown hollow, and her voice had grown stiff. "I didn't care. I _don't_ care. I don't care what he says, or what you say, or what happens to me after this. There's nothing left to care about anymore."

William's eyes widened, and even took on a similar hollow look. "That's not-"

"Don't even _try,_" Sissi spat, but didn't turn to face him - she talked to the wall. "Everything I care about is gone. And I can't forget. It's all that's in my head. I don't want to remember, sometimes I don't, but it comes back. It's there. I don't want to be here. Nothing happens, nothing changes, and I remember everything's gone. Being here is being dead. There's even a dead girl in my room."

William's eyes shifted awkwardly. "But you're not dead," he said. "I really don't understand what you're-"

"Leave me alone!" Sissi shouted suddenly, whipping around. "What if I liked being dead? What if I liked it when you didn't come around and make me remember everything? Well, whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to work."

"Trying to what? Look, what do you-"

"Do you think it's _romantic,_ trying to "save" me from myself? I've told you a thousand times, I don't need to be saved! There's nowhere to be saved to. I've tried, I really have. But caring is too much work." Sissi stood up and turned away from William. "I'm done. I'm not even going to try. I'm done. I'm done. All of you, just- just stay away from me!"

She remained in place for a long time before she walked away, taking each heavy step one at a time. William sat in his place for even longer, staring right after her as if in a trance. Then, as quick as he could, he took a notebook and pencil out of his side pocket. He opened the notebook to an empty page and wrote several quick fragments in English.

_6 Jan 06 Day_

_12-1: Sissi Encounter_

_Definitely knew Yumi_

_-Escape injury, a "thing" fell on her. = ?, vague_

_Father = principal?_ _ASK,_ _find name of school – Kadick?_

_Remember: don't be direct, take it slow, wait a while - fragile_

_-Spoiled rotten, no brains at all. = I'll keep that in mind, Yumi_

This done, William's pencil floated to the middle of the small page. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to form an image in his mind, and once it was held in the right position, he dropped his pencil to the paper and began sketching the shape of a head.

* * *

There will be more soon, believe it or not!

- Carth


	8. The Day Everything Went Wrong

Heey! Can you believe I'm still updating this? I just love it too much to let it go. :) Here's the next chapter! The plot moves, sort of!

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
****The Day Everything Went Wrong**

_January 14  
3:15 PM  
Grafton Street, Dublin, Ireland_

For the first time in over a month, the streets of Dublin were clear. The grass was still covered with a two-inch layer of snow, and mounds of dirty slush were piled wherever they could be fit, but for a short time the city was somewhat more navigable than it had been in December.

Grafton Street was not open to motor traffic, so it was only as crowded as it ever was after the holidays. The French had no reason to be in an Irish shopping center, after all. Most of them had no money, and the few that did found shopkeepers that did not understand their fractured English. The January bargain hunters could remember the crowds and caravans they had passed to get to Grafton Street, but in this one microcosm of the life that was no longer available to them, they could easily forget the gridlock and chaos just outside it.

If Sissi had been in a more observant or adaptable mood, she might have appreciated this relative virginity. Everyone that passed her was smiling, likely thinking only of the treasures around them. They might have read about the state of their city - of their world - in the paper or seen it on television. But to these English-speaking, well-dressed souls, Sissi's reality was only a fairytale, pitied and then forgotten, or so she had overheard at Avenshire. But neither reality nor stories mattered much to her anymore. As hard as she had tried, neither had given her any peace of mind - and so she ignored them completely.

She had become an expert at finding lonely spots. There was no one at the extreme end of the street, as there were no shops; she had only one person for company, a girl leaning on a wheelbarrow. She could not leave Sissi to shop as she was otherwise occupied, both with peddling fish and being a life-size bronze statue. Sissi would have preferred not to sit near anything even vaguely human, but as it was her pedestal was the only seat available. There was a plaque below her, which presumably explained why the statue was there, but it was in English, and in any case Sissi wasn't looking at the plaque or the statue.

_I'm not hiding_, she thought every so often. _If you're hiding, you care about being found_. In between thoughts, she dreamed. She dreamed that she could not only speak English, but had been speaking it all her life, and had never known any home but the ancient Irish city. This wouldn't be her first time on Grafton Street, but her hundredth - not a frightening 'treat', but a comforting routine. She wouldn't have slipped away from her father; she would have stayed close by his side, even held his hand, as they entered shops whose keepers welcomed them graciously, relieved that they were natives. They wouldn't wrinkle their noses at them, or scowl at her father's accent and his daughter's silence, or follow her like a hawk to make sure she didn't steal anything. Maybe the French would still be in her city, but it wouldn't be her problem.

Then, when that dream became too much to bear, she would shift to another. She could speak French in this dream, and hadn't heard so much as a word of English in years. The days were rare when she would not wake up at home, a thousand miles away, and do something like she had done the day before. Herb and Nicolas would - no. Sissi shut her eyes tight, forcing the painful names out of her dream. The perfectly anonymous boys would be there, annoying her as usual. She could do nothing, she could yell at their idiocy like she always did, or she could embrace them, tell them how much she wished that their routine, their presence, their love would never change.

Her dreams were never divorced from reality for very long, but every day she was able to hold them longer before they fell apart, as this one just had. Faced with an empty mind, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and moved back to the beginning.

"_Ah, ma cherie, Molly Malone_..."

The sudden French snapped Sissi out of her trance. She glanced sideways without turning her head. A man had approached the statue, an olive-skinned man in an ill-fitting sweater and slacks much like her own - the unofficial uniform of the refugee. She did not absorb much more information before she looked away and stared back at the ground.

"We've met before," the man said, his voice irritatingly close. "1997...that was the last time, and the first. I saw many statues that year, in many countries. Well, that was when I could come and go from my home at will. You're the only one I've seen again. You haven't changed a bit, sweetheart." He chuckled darkly. "No, I'm the one that's changed."

He paused for a long time, but when Sissi thought that she was finally at peace, he began again. "A busy girl, as you always were. Busy, but downtrodden. Can't really do anything but sell fish, can you? Who knows if you could do anything else?" He laughed again. "You're kind of like her, aren't you? Except you didn't have a choice about being dull, and she does."

Sissi turned bright red. She turned to face the man at the same time that he turned to her, smirking softly. Her eyes widened; the horrific acid scars were unmistakable. She had seen him around, lurking in hallways or on the grounds, but had not had another close encounter with him.

She opened her mouth to attack him, but she had not spoken in so long that she was out of practice - no words came out, only a gasp. The man kept chuckling. "Still throwing a fit, sweetheart? That's a shame. What a waste of breath you are. It's not much use trying to die if you're not going to make a commitment."

"Leave me alone," Sissi finally managed to push out.

"Right, sweetheart, because you're suffering." The man scratched absently at his blistered cheek. "If anything, you should consider yourself lucky. You have all your limbs. You have family. You're in relatively posh digs. I see no reason for you to complain."

"You don't know anything about me." Sissi found it easier to talk once she had already articulated her anger. "Why are you taking this out on me? Why not anyone else?"

"I'm not taking anything out on you. And I couldn't help but notice you, the way you were hollering…but I could easily forget a lost cause, which you're not." His smile returned. "You're from Boulogne-Billancourt. Half your room is from Boulogne-Billancourt. You were the first ones to see what happened, and the source is sitting right on your homes. Everyone knows, and it comes up often. Your potential is practically prophetic."

"You're a fool," Sissi said automatically. "We can't do anything."

"That stands every chance of being true. But if your previous behavior means anything, you've come to that without thinking." The man's ears perked up. "My eyes aren't what they once were, but I can tell that a Frenchman is coming toward us, and he's yelling your name. I suppose that's that, then." The man pulled his hood up and walked away without another word, disappearing into the crowds on the nearby streets.

From where he had been standing, Sissi could see what he had heard. Her father was moving swiftly down Grafton, pushing shoppers aside with his halo of shopping bags. She stared, but did not make any move to join him.

"Sissi!" Mr. Delmas broke free of the crowds and stumbled for the statue of Molly Malone. As he came closer, Sissi could read his facial expression, which was stuck somewhere between worry and rage. He dropped his packages at the foot of the pedestal and embraced his daughter, which she halfheartedly returned. "Sissi! There you are!" he gasped. "I've been looking all over for you...!"

He pulled back from his daughter and looked into her glazed eyes. He didn't expect her to answer, and she did not. "Don't..." He took a sharp breath as he attempted to articulate his feelings. "Don't ever do that again. Do you understand?"

Sissi nodded and mumbled "I understand" in a monotone. Mr. Delmas didn't look convinced; for a moment he squeezed his daughter's shoulder, but thought better of the emotion he had been preparing to express, and relaxed his grip. "I'm not so sure _I_ understand," he said. "Will you...tell me why you ran away?"

Sissi looked past her father, back to the crowds of Grafton Street. "I hate this city," she said.

Mr. Delmas sat down next to his daughter, but lay his arms back around her shoulders, stroking them every so often. "It's the best we've got, my dear," he said lightly. "And it's not so bad once you have a look around-"

"I hate Avenshire too," Sissi went on.

Mr. Delmas's face hardened. "And what are we supposed to do about it?" he muttered. "I don't know what's gotten into you, Sissi. You were doing so well, but all of a sudden..." Ordinarily such an accusation would have riled Sissi, and Mr. Delmas knew it, but when he got no response he sighed and switched tactics. "You're my daughter, and even if you don't believe me, I can give you my word that I want to help you."

"I'm fine," Sissi said.

"That's not what I see," Mr. Delmas said. "Moods like these happen, Sissi, and while I can tell you anything I want, ultimately it's up to you to listen to me." He sighed. "The next caravans leave in ten minutes. I think we've spent enough time in the cold, Sissi."

He clapped her shoulder, and she shuddered under his touch, but nodded all the same. She stood up before her father did, and soon enough father and daughter left side-by-side, but not hand-in-hand, for the roadside, leaving Molly Malone to her work behind them.

* * *

Room 404 was never somber on a Saturday, but it was rather lively on this day in particular. The sun was streaming in through the window, brighter than it had been in months. The snow had let up for six days so far, and this Saturday came on the tail end of the first full work week since November. The adults were able to appreciate time taken to themselves, and the children were elated with their presence.

The Mermonds had gone into the city the day before, so when Sissi and her father attempted to re-enter the room in the mid-afternoon they found their way blocked by Magali, Lucille, Celine, Hiroki, and the miniature city they had spent the day creating out of various blocks, Hiroki's Game Boy, and the girls' permitted purchases. The brushes from Magali's makeup kit served as trees by the block-roadside, while plastic dolls that had already been relieved of their clothing sat in the middle of the roads like cars. Celine was kneeling near a picture-book building, holding her bunny and mumbling nonsense. Lucille was guiding some plastic cards through the roads, jumping over the dolls, while Magali and Hiroki continued building further back toward the Mermond cots, where Matthieu, Mr. Mermond, Sandrine, and Mr. Ishiyama were playing cards.

Mr. Delmas looked at the city with trepidation, pausing just long enough for Lucille to look up and notice him. "Plantface! Sissi!" she yelled loud enough to disturb everyone else in the room. "You're back from wherever! Don't step on the city, okay?"

"Oh...yes, of course, Lucille." Mr. Delmas looked awkwardly down at the city as he walked to his mattress, but still managed not to upset anything. Sissi didn't respond or take any such care for her steps, but only knocked some road blocks sideways as she followed her father, and only mumbled "sorry" at Magali and Hiroki's shocked protests. The Delmases reached their mattresses without further incident; Mr. Delmas dropped his purchases on his, and Sissi dropped herself on hers.

"Jean-Pierre!" Mr. Mermond called, looking up at the noise. "We're starting another round."

"Don't mind if I do!" Mr. Delmas said, giving a smile back. "We'll be right there."

"_We?_" Sissi grumbled.

"Yes, we," Mr. Delmas said in an undertone. "You don't have to play. But I do want you to sit with me."

_What's the point?_ Sissi thought, but the words didn't make it to her mouth. Instead she said "Okay," and followed her father to the Mermond block of mattresses. Mr. Delmas joined the circle, while Sissi sat on the outside, looking in.

"I'm dealing," Sandrine said automatically. She dealt five cards to each player, face down, which they picked up, keeping them hidden to everyone but Sissi. None of them had very good hands.

"Is this poker, then?" Mr. Delmas said. "I'm afraid I'm not much of a player, but don't stop on my part. I'm sure I'll pick it up."

"Everyone does," Matthieu laughed. "Is Dublin still as stagnant as ever?"

"Sissi and I were in the nice part for once." Mr. Delmas smiled at his daughter, who only nodded. "Grafton Street. It was fine, just fine."

"I didn't think that any of us had any need for shopping streets in our situation," Mr. Ishiyama said.

"Well, it was more for the fresh air than anything else. Staying in one place too long dulls the imagination, I think."

"That's not what I've seen," Sandrine said. "The rumors that people have come up with lately are incredible."

"Rumors?" Mr. Delmas's eyes went wide. "I haven't heard any rumors. What kind?"

The other players' faces looked strained - it was clear that they each had their own set to share. "Oh, the _usual,_" Mr. Mermond said, laughing nervously. "New caravans, food shortages, overcrowded rooms, military men in the shelter..."

"Different languages being spoken in the shelter," Matthieu said, trying to sound casual. "Portuguese, German, even English...but of course you also hear about Arabic and Swahili, so who knows if any of these are right, right?"

"Don't be so quick to say that," Mr. Ishiyama said. "The soap ration _has_ gotten smaller."

"Not that anyone but you would notice," Matthieu muttered back.

"It's junk, all of it," Sandrine said, looking frustrated. "No one can prove anything. Some people just can't accept that they're happy and safe."

_Happy, safe. _Sissi tried to focus on anything else to get those words out of her mind. Hiroki was shyly telling Magali that his Game Boy, which was wearing a masking-tape sash that said "MAYOR", should be the robot overlord of their city, while Magali giggled in an exaggerated fashion. Mrs. Ishiyama was sitting, as always, next to the girl she didn't want to think about, reading a book with one hand and squeezing her inert daughter's hand with the other. Luisa, now only weeks from her due date, sat still on a Mermond cot on the opposite side of the card game, watching everyone's hands closely but making no move to join them. She waved at Sissi as usual, and Sissi gave her unenthused return before looking away. No one, not by any stretch of the imagination, was doing nothing - no one except Sissi, who had no desire to do anything at all.

"Forget it," Mr. Delmas finally said, loud enough to get Sissi's attention again. "We've survived this long. If adversity comes again, which it will not, we can face it. The girls have got quite a dangerous construction there," he said suddenly. "Is that all their work?"

"Oh, Dunbar was helping them earlier," Mr. Memond mumbled.

"William's been here?" Mr. Delmas took a look around the room. "Shame I missed him. We had a conversation to continue."

"He'll be back," Matthieu replied, letting his hand fall exposed for Mr. Ishiyama to study. "He runs out often, most of the time for no reason. Odd as a duck, he is. But the girls like him, and I can't say I don't. Far more sociable than Martha, not to mention he's one of our kind. His mother is French, he says." There was a creaking noise, and he looked up. "Oh, speak of the devil, there he is, though I can't say for how long."

Sissi turned sharply to look at the door, her blood boiling under her skin. There he was, there he was indeed, with all of his stupid hair and his stupid uniform and his stupid clipboard and his stupid face. He inched slowly through the door so as not to knock down the city. The children stood and greeted him cacophonously as always, but he shooed them with limited success.

"Hello! Yes, I'm back! Sorry, guys, whoops, coming through-" He grimaced as he stepped on a block, but soon found his way out by the Ishiyama side of the room, looking ruffled. "Afternoon," he said to Mrs. Ishiyama while looking at Yumi.

"Afternoon," Mrs. Ishiyama said without looking up, as she did every time William greeted her daughter. William nodded and moved on to the back of the room. About halfway there he noticed the dirty look Sissi was giving him, and grinned as he always did in response. He made a show of approaching her and leaning against a nearby wall.

"Still don't care about anything?" he said brightly.

"Leave me alone," she snarled without looking up.

"Sure, okay," he said. "Not like I wanted to talk to you or anything."

Sissi tried to intimidate him with a glare. His grin was holding strong, but his eye was twitching slightly. His clipboard had fallen slightly; Sissi caught sight of a sketched figure before he snapped it back up.

"Then don't," Sissi said.

"Fine," William said. "Your dad is more interesting anyway." He raised his voice. "Mr. Delmas!" He moved to the Mermond mattresses and seated himself right between Sissi and her father, giving Sissi a quick eye-roll before turning away from her.

"Oh, William!" Mr. Delmas turned to face William. "Hold on a moment- I, ah, fold, I think is the word." He placed his cards face-down in the playing area and turned around, leaving the game to continue without him. "Before anything else, I have to say your recommendations were excellent. I never would have known those shops were there if not for you."

"Well, uh, okay, but they weren't really mine," William said, shifting in his seat and tapping his fingers against the mattress. "They just gave us a list of places to tell people about."

"You didn't _have_ to tell me that. No matter." [What was it we were on the last time?]

"We don't need to speak English," William said deliberately.

[The others do not take well to these topics, least of all my daughter.]

[Good point,] William said. His attempt worked well enough - Sissi had one eye on them, looking with interest. [We were talking about Paris, weren't we?]

[Right, Paris, Paris...] Mr. Delmas's brow furrowed. [Honestly speaking, William, I was never in the city very often. I can't give you much more information than a guidebook can.]

[I don't really need much more than that,] William replied. [I'm not asking too much, am I, professor? I didn't live in Paris for very long, and I'm just-]

[No, no, it's quite alright,] Mr. Delmas said, looking unnerved to be called "professor". [I've determined not to forget the past. Your attention is welcome, in fact, despite your young age. Sometimes the repression that this shelter thinks we need is more stifling than anything.]

[I've never heard that before,] William said. [But if that's the case, you can tell me what you did know about.]

Mr. Delmas sounded on edge. [Is there any reason?]

[I've told you about myself,] William said, his voice rising in pitch. [And, I remember Kadic Academy from the news reports...and other refugees I've met talk of your _commune_...] The words had their desired effect; Sissi practically jumped out of her seat.

[I could teach you everything you need to know about subtlety, William,] Mr. Delmas said bitterly. [But, I have nothing to hide. If you're trying to get information about the supposed origins of these...demons, then I know no more than you, and whatever I know you have already been told. Boulogne-Billancourt is inaccessible. After my escape, I know nothing - least of all about Miss Ishiyama's condition,] he said sharply, [so remove that question before you ask it again.]

[Oh - uh, I wasn't going to. But that's fine. I thought so.] William paused to reconsider. [You were headmaster of your school, weren't you?] he said suddenly. [I can't really remember.]

Mr. Delmas took a deep breath. [This I can explain to you more clearly,] he said in a lighter tone. [Yes, principal was the word we used. I did not teach any classes, but I oversaw them, as well as discipline. The children, their lives and their futures, they were my responsibility. They've gone their own ways now, of course. Some with their families, some to other shelters...but all to safe locations. That is a happy memory.]

[Do you keep track of all of them?] William said.

[Yes, I do.] Mr. Delmas tried to sound casual. [I lost the class list in Wales, but I have constructed it again from memory. There are regrettable holes, but I...cannot assume anything bad has happened to any of them.] His voice dropped to a mumble. [I'm sure young Milly is-]

"Milly Solovieff?" William said suddenly.

Mr. Delmas froze, and his eyes widened sharply. "Solovieff..." He turned the name over in his mind. "Yes...Milly, Milly _Solovieff_, that was the young girl's name!"

He said this so loudly that many in the room turned to look, mumbling "What's going on?" with bemused looks on their faces. Sissi, who was already looking, froze as much as her father had, though she still took in her father's words. "William, how do you know that name? Have you seen her?"

"Well, maybe, maybe not," William said, looking surprised. "But there's a girl named Milly Solovieff living downstairs in the gym."

The card game was forgotten; all attention was on William and Mr. Delmas. "What does she look like?" the old principal pressed on. "Milly Solovieff was eleven years old, small and skinny, with red hair. Is that her?"

William's eyes widened. "Um, yes. Exactly, actually!"

"I've found her." Mr. Delmas's voice was lighter than air. "After all these months, I've found her - and right here!" He clapped a hand on William's shoulder. "Mr. Dunbar, I can't thank you enough. You've reunited me with a student I've wanted to find for a long time. Would you be able to take us to her?"

"Well, sure!" William said, sounding overwhelmed. "Sissi's coming, then?"

"Surely! Give me a moment." He waved off the incoming questions ("A student? You've found a student of yours, Jean-Pierre?" "Will you bring her back here?" "A student? Which one?" "¿Qué pasando, Señor Delmas?") and moved across the mattress to his daughter. Sissi had not moved at all, and her face wore an expression of surprise that had not yet had the time to turn itself into any other emotion. "Sissi, have you been listening?" He put both his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Milly Solovieff is here, right here! She's in the gym downstairs. William is going to take us there. Are you alright?"

Sissi was not yet sure whether or not she was alright. She had only just succeeded in forgetting Milly's name herself, and its resurgence had been far from welcome. She contorted her face into the most painful of smiles. "I'm fine, Daddy. Just fine. That's wonderful, Daddy."

"It is, it is wonderful." Mr. Delmas was too distracted to take too close a look at his daughter's condition. "Come, we're going immediately."

"If you don't mind, Daddy, I'll stay here," Sissi said through her smile. "You can come back and tell me what it was like later."

"Oh, Sissi, you don't know what you're saying!" Mr. Delmas patted his daughter's shoulder. "This is what you've wanted, isn't it? A Kadic student, safe and alive!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her up. "I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you. Come, I think it'll do you some good."

Sissi looked over her father's shoulder at William, whose eyebrows were flying up into his hair. It was this that jogged her brain. "I'll go," she said, and regretted it instantly.

"Right. We'll be back soon," Mr. Delmas announced to the curious room before he ran out with Sissi, sending toy bricks flying in his wake. William ran out after them, clutching his clipboard, determined to tell them that they were going the wrong way.

* * *

_5:15 pm  
Avenshire, Ground Level_

Mr. Delmas had tackled the stairs with a speed that belied his fifty-six years, but now that he was at the foot he was paying the price. He stood there, panting heavily, while Sissi and William, who had not been so enthusiastic, were still a flight removed. Sissi looked resolutely away from William, who glanced back at her from time to time.

"So, did you know Milly or anything like that?" he said in the short window of time that he could.

"None of your business," Sissi said.

William could not reply; they had reached the ground floor, where Mr. Delmas was looking at the "Gym" sign pointing left. "She's that way, then," he said.

"Well, probably," William said, switching from secretive to professional in a matter of seconds. "I know where her mattress is, but I don't know if she'll be there."

"Then we'll find out where she is." Mr. Delmas walked briskly down the hall in the direction, and Sissi and William followed him on either side. "I don't believe I've ever been down this way," he said to William. "What is in the gym?"

"Children without families," William said. "Oh, and, adults from other parts of the building usually aren't allowed in here, so as soon as a sister notices we're here..."

He did not have the opportunity to finish before a squat older woman stepped out of a side hallway carrying a short stack of linens. She didn't see them at first, but when she did, she stopped right in front of Mr. Delmas. "_Mon-sewer_, this is area of children, adults not allowed here," she said in awkward French.

[Yes, I've just been made aware of that,] Mr. Delmas responded. [But if you'll excuse me, Sister, I'm-]

[He's with me, Sister Jane,] William interrupted. [He wanted to see Milly Solovieff.]

[It's rude to interrupt, Mr. Dunbar,] Sister Jane said sternly. [I can see you just fine, and if the man can speak English he can speak for himself.]

William grumbled something no one could hear, least of all Sister Jane, who turned her attention to the English-speaking adult. [Are you Milly's father, _mon-sewer_?]

[No, I already have my daughter.] Mr. Delmas took Sissi's hand. Sissi did not understand any of the conversation, but still had some idea of it, and turned her head to the side. [I am her former teacher. Your student has made me aware of her residence here, and I would like to visit with her, if that is possible.]

The sister's face softened as he spoke. By the time he was done, it was almost somber. [Well, then, I'm glad you're about to find each other, Professor,] she said. [Milly's in the gymnasium. I can take you to her.]

[That would be excellent, thank you,] Mr. Delmas said. Sister Jane didn't waste any time – she turned and took off towards the gym with Mr. Delmas. Sissi and William followed behind; William was grumbling slightly about how he didn't need her to know where he was going, while Sissi remained silent, and looked at the ground.

[We do try to make the gym a welcoming place for the children,] Sister Jane said to Mr. Delmas in an undertone as they went along. [Many of them are well-adjusted and lively, even kind and helpful.] She hesitated. [But despite all we do, some are, shall I say...locked inside themselves. They won't leave the gym, they won't move from their beds…We try to engage them, but they won't be engaged.]

[I can understand,] Mr. Delmas said.

Sister Jane hesitated again. [I hope this is not a shock to you, but I'm afraid Milly Solovieff…]

[I know.] Mr. Delmas tried not to sound grim. [Has she spoken at all?]

Sister Jane's eyes widened, and she shook her head. [We've tried everything. We don't know where she's from or how she got here. We only knew her name from her bag labels.]

[There are things I know and things I don't,] Mr. Delmas said. [But they're no matter now. I just want to see her.]

They had arrived at the gymnasium door. It was open to them, so, led by Sister Jane, they stepped inside. The improved weather had drawn most of the children out of the gym, so all but a few mattresses were empty. Sissi's eyes darted from one mattress to the other, starting at any child that might have looked like her. William watched her curiously, his fingers drumming on his clipboard.

[She's in the far corner,] Sister Jane finally said, before rearranging her linens and politely excusing herself from the gym. Mr. Delmas turned his head in the indicated direction, so Sissi, in a fit of insatiable curiosity, did so as well.

In the indicated corner, fifteen empty mattresses away, sat a small, crumpled heap, still in her pajamas with her blanket pulled over her legs. Her hair had grown red and ragged around her face, and at such a distance her face was invisible. She was holding something in her hands, and picking at it with determination.

Mr. Delmas took a breath and shook out his shoulders. Slowly he moved forward; Sissi and William did not follow him. Sissi's eyes were fixed on the little girl who may or may not have been Milly. She could feel, or perhaps only imagine William's eyes on the three of them, judging their actions. She wondered if it was too late to turn back, to forget that she had ever known a Milly, to forget that she had ever said yes and come down the stairs. She wondered why it had suddenly occurred to her to care.

William took three steps forward, but stopped when he realized Sissi was not following him. "Are you afraid?" he said without turning his head. Sissi's face contorted, and she moved up to meet him. He said no more.

"Milly?" Mr. Delmas called when he was halfway there. The girl did not look up. He moved several mattresses closer and called again – "Milly?" – but did not get a response. All the while Sissi was inching closer, moving one step when her father moved two. By the time Mr. Delmas reached the girl, Sissi was halfway between them both.

At this distance there was no mistaking her, none at all. She could see her eyes through the tangled clumps of her hair. She had expected a dead stare, like the one that greeted her every morning, but the little girl's gaze was hard and hot, still but full of life. The object in her hands was now distinct: it was a light brown teddy bear. Its middle was torn and ragged, and some of its stuffing had fallen into her lap. She wasn't just holding it, but clutching it, digging her bitten fingernails into the cloth.

Mr. Delmas bit his lip when he saw the bear, but did not comment on it. Instead, he tried to look right into Milly's eyes. "Milly," he said again, crouching down to her level. "Milly, it's me. Principal Delmas."

Milly's hand twitched. Trembling, Mr. Delmas placed his hand on her shoulder. Milly didn't pull away, but she did not fail to react. Slowly, but surely, she turned her head and looked up, fixing Mr. Delmas with her gaze through her hair.

"Milly," Mr. Delmas said, sounding light as air. "Milly, you know who I am, right, Milly? Nod if you know who I am."

Milly looked to one side, then to the other, then back up at Mr. Delmas. Slowly, she nodded her head.

"Oh!" Mr. Delmas's face lightened with the movement. "Thank goodness, Milly!" He wrapped his arms around her. Milly closed her eyes, but wouldn't take a hand off her bear to return the hug. "We've been looking everywhere for you," he said. "We've been in this building for months together. I should have known." They pulled away from each other. "Are you happy I'm here, Milly?" he said. "Smile if you're happy I'm here."

Milly looked down at her teddy bear, then back up. She gave a shy smile, which Mr. Delmas returned. "Good. Good, that's wonderful." He paused. "Could you tell me…"

Milly shook her head rapidly before he could finish. "Ah, I understand." Mr. Delmas dug into his pockets. "I don't seem to have…hm. If I were to bring you a pencil and paper, do you think you could write?"

Milly sat still for a long time, but finally she looked back up at Mr. Delmas and nodded. "Okay, then next time I will," he said. Mr. Delmas shifted in front of Milly, blocking her from Sissi's view.

Sissi's thoughts were racing at an unintelligible pace. She'd seen enough of her, enough that she had forced herself not to think about, from her name to her eyes to the headless…_thing _in her lap. She wondered why she wasn't running, or why she hadn't tried harder to leave. She was curious, she finally decided, curious to see what the creature would do next. Sighing, she happened to glance at William, and was surprised to see the same shocked, surprised look as was on her own face. His hands were clutching his clipboard, and he was looking from Milly to Mr. Delmas to Sissi and back, muttering to himself.

"Sissi's here too, Milly," Mr. Delmas said suddenly, freezing Sissi's insides. "She's right behind me, with William Dunbar. Do you know William Dunbar?" He didn't wait for an answer – he shifted aside and extended his hand. "See? There they are!"

Milly lifted her head, locking eyes with Sissi. Both their eyes widened as wide as they could possibly go, filling their faces. It was another staredown, just like the hundreds that Sissi had had with _her,_ but this face was different than that of the other Kadic student on Avenshire grounds. This face could blink. That body could move. That brain could analyze in wordless bursts of emotion and intuition. Those hands could dig into a skull and –

Sissi opened her mouth out of an urge to react, but had no words to say. Fragments of sentences drifted through her head, and in an act of desperation they all came out.

"The bear," she croaked, looking as pale as lifeless as Yumi three floors above. "Take it away. Take it away, now, Milly. Get rid of the bear, take it away."

William's eyes widened, but he didn't look afraid, or even confused – more than anything he looked fascinated, and the corners of his mouth were twitching their way to a smile. Mr. Delmas, on the other hand, was thunderstruck. He stood up to his full height. "Sissi, there's nothing wrong here –" A tremble under his hand caught his attention. "Milly, are you alright?"

Milly had not shown any sign of responding to Sissi with words, but, unnoticed by all, she had begun to shake. Then she let out a giggle, then a chuckle, and finally a big, loud laugh. On any other child it would not have been half as frightening – the same laugh would have come from a funny joke. But Milly's face, her bearing, gave it the chills it lacked in its sound.

Blood rushed back into Sissi's legs. She took two steps back, then three more. Mr. Delmas clenched his teeth and began walking back towards her. "Sissi…Milly…we'll…come back later…"

_RRRIIIPPPP_. Mr. Delmas spun back at Milly. The bear's head was lying torn from its neck on her lap, and she was laughing so hard that she had run out of air; she had doubled over the halves of the bear's head, coughing and laughing still.

Sissi didn't waste any time thinking about the situation. While her father was distracted, she turned around, stumbled over the mattresses in her path, and ran out the gymnasium door. Mr. Delmas called out after her – "Sissi! Sissi, what are you doing?" – but she was long gone down the hall.

Milly's coughs were ending her laughter. Mr. Delmas tried to stumble through the mattresses to go after her, but William, who was now drumming his fingers on his clipboard, stopped him with a look. "Should I go after her?" he said.

He took Mr. Delmas's opening mouth as a "yes", and without wasting another moment he took off after her.

* * *

Down, down, down the hall. Sissi didn't know where she was running, nor was she able to figure it out. Every wall was blurring together, so much so that she knew only to avoid them. Destination wasn't an object, as long as that destination was far, far from anything at all.

She heard faint footsteps behind her, and began to run faster. Down one hallway, left into another, through a line – was it the cafeteria?. There was a voice now, with the footsteps, and with every step she took each would grow louder. "Sissi!" the voice would yell. "Sissi, stop!"

Down, down, through an open door and down three stairs. She was in a basement of some sort now; there were pipes along the insulated walls, and a large boiler in the corner. It was a dead end, but one with a door that could be shut. Just as she was turning around to do so, she heard a loud **SLAM** and finished her turn to find it shut. William was standing in front of it with his hands pressed against it, panting heavily.

Sissi trembled on the spot, and balled her hands into fists. For a moment William thought she was going to punch him, and the hungry look in her eyes made him think that she wanted to. But something was holding her back. She still had the sharp look in her eyes with which she had stared Milly down. "Get out," she growled.

William drummed his fingers against his clipboard. He tried to look as cool as possible while still catching his breath. "Maybe I should, but…"

"GET OUT!" Sissi lunged at William, grabbed his shoulders, and dug deep into his skin with her fingernails. William pushed her back with his own hands to prevent himself from being crushed. In the process he dropped his clipboard, scattering its contents across the floor.

Sissi's hair had fallen into her eyes. Their faces were closer than ever. "I told you to get away," she muttered. "I tell you over, and over, and over, but you don't."

"Sometimes I'm not a very good listener." William moved his hands away from Sissi's shoulders, placing them on the arms that were holding him against the door. "Of course, sometimes I am. If you're done, if you don't care, then why did you run? What is it about that little girl that bothers you?"

Sissi's grip slackened. "I don't want to talk about her. I don't want to talk about anything."

"Your father told me it was bad to repress memories."

"And why should I listen to him?"

"I really don't see how yelling at me is making you any happier."

"Then go where I can't yell at you!"

William's eyes narrowed. He took his hands off her arms and put them at his sides. "I can't go anywhere if you won't let me go."

Sissi grumbled, but grudgingly removed her hands from his shoulders. William moved past her, stepped down the stairs, and knelt by the scattered pages of his clipboard. "You're not going to offer to help?" he called up.

Sissi didn't respond or move away from the stairs. William shrugged and began gathering the papers in a pile. Sissi found her eyes sliding over the mess, which had spread out over a good portion of the basement. Some of the papers had tables and charts, much like Martha's clipboard had, but others, most of the others, were covered with indistinct lines and blurred colors. Sketches.

For the first time in a long time, she felt curious. She hopped down from the stairs, walked through the paper pile, and approached William, crouching to his level. "Are those…people?"

"Huh?" William looked up, looking surprised. "Oh, these? Oh, just… doodles ...nothing in particular."

He stopped collecting the papers and turned his head. Sissi picked up the closest page. It looked like it had been torn out of a notebook. It was dated in the top right – 10 Jan 06 Night – and contained three detailed sketches arranged in a triangle, with unreadable English in the margins.

On the bottom left two young girls were holding hands and walking away, and on the bottom right a boy sat crouched over a laptop, his face invisible. The top sketch was much larger and simpler: a boy and a girl were leaning against a ball of crayoned white light. The boy's head was tilted away from the girl, but despite the detail in the rest of his appearance – his hair, his clothing, his composure – he did not have a face. But the girl did, and her face was rendered more beautifully than any of the other drawings – Sissi could see the lines on her lips. Her head and her eyes were tilted away from the boy, looking… looking…at…

The paper shook in Sissi's hands. She snatched another from the floor and scanned it frantically. There she was again, many of her from multiple angles – one looking down, one to the side, one with her palms and face turned upward in prayer. She snatched two more and found her in the first, this time in the white gown she wore now, surrounded by chicken scratch. [_Sissi Encounter. Definitely knew Yumi. Escape injury, a "thing" fell on her._]

"What is this?" she mumbled, crushing the drawing in her hand. "_What is this_?"

She dropped the crushed paper, but still held largest and most complicated drawing. Four faceless bodies surrounded a core trio. Sissi ignored the figure in the top right, an unfamiliar girl in an ugly dress, but the other three were beyond her belief. Helmet hair, turtleneck, glasses, no face. Spiky hair, purple spot, hands on hips, no face. Then him, him from the picture, the first one, brown hair, baggy clothes, blank, blank, blank – beyond blank. X. William had drawn a large, red X where his face should have been.

And then there was the middle, the trio holding hands in a circle. Her again, but who was she holding hands with? Tall, black hair, blue shirt. Face. Him. And connecting them, her. Long hair, headband, favorite lost heart shirt. Face. Question marks – her image was lost in a sea of question marks. And in the middle of those question marks, one fact – "Sissi Delmas: the principal's daughter."

The notes on this page were in French. This hit her so intensely that only one other could be absorbed: the picture's title, written large and loud beneath it all:

"Kadic Academy Boys and Girls."

Kadic Academy. Her mind was flypaper to the word. She looked up, thunderstruck, only to find that William was looking back at her. His expression was blank, but his mouth was twitching, trying to hold back a reaction.

"Who…" Sissi began, but couldn't continue. A lump rose in her throat, and she shook with rage at herself. "Who are…"

Tears welled in her eyes against her will, and she turned away. William moved quickly to touch her shoulder and was surprised to find that she didn't throw him off; thus encouraged, he moved closer, wrapping his arm around her back. Sissi's head sank into her knees; if she was crying, William couldn't tell.

"Who are what?" William said, pulling the drawing out of her hands. "Who are they? Who am I?" Sissi whined, but didn't answer. "Well, you know who I am. And you know who they are too, don't you?"

Sissi pulled her head back up. Her eyes were red, but she did not appear to have cried. Her gaze moved back to the drawing, studying it.

"I do," she said, in a small, still voice. "I did. They're dead."

William raised an eyebrow. "Dead?"

"I don't know her." Sissi pointed at the girl in the top right. "But them, over there. They're all dead."

William looked from the unfamiliar girl to the boys on the side. "They look alive to me."

"They're drawings." Sissi looked up at William for the first time. William saw a change in her look – it was still firey and strong, but there was a curiosity in her gaze that had been lost before. "How do you know them?"

William opened his mouth, then thought better of it. He closed it, putting a finger on his chin. "I don't know," he said. "Or maybe I do. It depends on how much you _want_ to know, really."

He removed his hand from Sissi's back. Sissi curled up into a ball, and stared at the drawing, her eyes never leaving the bottom left corner. "It's not going to go away," she said, speaking more to herself than to William. "None of it will. I don't want to know any of it. But I have to. I don't know why, but I have to."

William looked confused. "Have to know what?"

"Why everything's happening the way it is." Sissi's voice sounded stronger. "Why I'm here, and they're…there."

William's curiosity was burning beyond containment. "In that case," he said, "Wanna make a deal?"

Sissi turned to William again, and her eyes narrowed. "What…kind of deal?"

"If you tell me how you know them, I'll tell you how I know them. How's that sound?"

William smiled at Sissi, but her mouth remained a thin line. "You're insane," she said. "But so am I." She leaned back on her palms. "I don't know what to say."

"Say whatever you want."

"You don't know what you're getting into."

"Neither do you."

"I guess that was the deal." Sissi smiled the smallest of smiles, then took the deepest of breaths. "Well…"

* * *

"They were students," she said. "Students at Kadic Academy."

"And you, too?"

"Well, yes, but not just a student. My father and I had lived at Kadic Academy my entire life, longer than I can remember. Other kids lived in houses, or apartments, but I lived in a school, a school my father owned. It wasn't perfect, but it was special. Everything about us was special, really."

Sissi spoke in a voice that struck William as unfamiliar from her lips - it was honest, swift, and desperate. She was saying more than he needed to know, but he didn't mind. He felt like he was being taken to a part of her mind that had not been opened for some time, one that was responding well to the fresh air.

"When I was little I went to the elementary school nearby," she went on. "And there, there's your question. That's how I knew…"

"Knew…?" William said, raising his eyebrow at the pause.

Sissi felt the lump rising again. "Ulrich," she finally said. "Ulrich Stern."

William's knuckles twitched. "Ulrich Stern," he said. "G-go on."

Sissi's pause continued for some time. "Ulrich was proud," she finally said. "Even when he was young he thought he was too good for anyone else. He never played with anyone or talked to anyone, not even me. And I tried, too. But he'd just sit on that one swing he used to sit on, and…but that's not the point," she said hurriedly. "We were in elementary school…and then in sixth grade we both went to Kadic.

"And that's where I met them." Sissi pointed at the helmet-haired boy. "Jeremie Belpois. He was supposed to be this big super genius kid, but no one ever knew 'cause he never talked." Sissi's hand fell back at her side. "And then, her. Yumi Ishiyama. She was a grade above us."

"Were you friends with them?" William said.

"No," Sissi said hastily. "Well, they weren't friends with anyone, then. They were all these weird loners. Even Ulrich, no matter how much I tried to get his attention. Maybe Belpois and Ishiyama were socially awkward, but Ulrich…" She paused. "You can just go ahead and tell me if I get off track again."

"You got off track again."

"Right. Well, that's how it was in sixth grade. In seventh grade…well, that's when things got strange. I guess it started when Odd Della Robbia transferred in." She pointed at the figure in the top left.

"Oh, that's her name?" William said. "That's unique."

Sissi made a face. "_He _was Ulrich's new roommate all of a sudden. He was different from all of them, a real chatterbox. And he must have done something, because overnight Ulrich, Belpois, Ishiyama, and Della Robbia…they didn't have any friends before, but they all just started hanging out."

William's eyebrows flew into his hair. "That's…"

"And they were _weird _friends too," Sissi went on without acknowledging him, "They just stayed in their little group, and wouldn't talk to anyone else or let anyone else in. They'd whisper, they'd have secret meetings…sometimes I think I only want to think that, but I _know_ I knew back then that something was up with them. Mostly everyone just left them alone, but _I _didn't. _I _didn't think they had to push anyone away. Not even when they mocked me, or…"

"Or?"

"Nothing. That's how things were, then. They did their thing and I did mine. I say I know them, but to tell the truth they were too wrapped up in themselves to want anything to do with me." She paused, her eyes wide. "At least, until…"

Before Sissi could continue, there was a loud banging on the basement door. William and Sissi looked up in surprise. There were muffled voices on the other side, and more banging.

"Looks like I forgot I was supposed to bring you back to your dad," William said. "Uh…"

"Right." Sissi nodded. "When can I meet you again?" she said, hardly believing what she was saying.

"My dorm's curfew is midnight." William was just as surprised. "When can you sneak out?"

"Eleven." Sissi stood up. "I'll be in the fourth floor hallway tomorrow night." She turned to face him. Her face was no longer red, and her eyes held an odd vitality. "You're still insane," she said.

"So are you," William replied. Walking together, though a foot apart from each other, they walked up the stairs and opened the basement door.

* * *

See you soon. :)

- Carth


	9. Return To The Past

Can it be? It is! A CHAPTER! This has been sitting on my hard drive for a while, but it was finally finished in happy response to GITM being nominated for a fic award on the site XANA's Lair! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

This chapter is a mite dark, even darker than the others, just so you know.

* * *

**Chapter Nine  
Return To The Past**

_January 16  
11:15 PM_

It was times like these when William wished that the French still had cell service. He wasn't worried about Sissi, or even especially interested in why she was late, but all the same a text would have eased his mind.

The fourth floor hallway was dark, lit only by moonlight from the side windows, but it wasn't at all empty. The shower line was stretching down the hall, serving those residents that had arrived later and thus gotten a less convenient shower time. It was longer than he usually saw, and full of faces he did not remember seeing in passing. He was the only one loitering in the hall; he tried to detract attention by adding strokes to his clipboard sketches and pretending that he was doing work.

Finally, he heard the door to room 404 creak open. Sissi stepped gingerly out through a crack just large enough to fit her, and looked first one way and then the other. William nodded a greeting when their eyes met; she stepped all the way out and walked toward him.

"Dunbar," she said.

"Delmas," he replied.

Sissi leaned on the wall next to him, and looked from her feet to his. She was dressed in a long T-shirt and slippers, while William still wore his uniform. "There's a broom closet down the hall," she said. "I've hidden in there before."

"Alright," William said. "It's not the best option, but I guess beggars can't be-" He realized what he was saying halfway through his sentence, and abruptly stopped.

"Choosers," Sissi finished for him, and then started down the hallway, past the line. William followed after her.

The broom closet by the stairs had no number; it simply read "UTILITIES." It was full of brooms, cleaning solvents, and enough anonymous buckets to provide seats beyond the one-person standing room. They flipped the light switch, closed the door behind them, and sat on two of these buckets, facing each other with their hands in their laps.

"So," William said, leaning forward. "Until?"

Sissi looked down at their feet again. "Until three months ago. You know what I'm going to say."

"Then you don't have to say anything."

"That's what you think." Sissi smiled, but not for long. She was silent for some time, biting her lip, before she began again.

"It started out like any other day," she said. "Well, not really, not so much. The Prom was that night, but – you know what I mean. An extraordinary ordinary day…thing. Anyway. I know I was looking forward to it. There was a Beauty Queen pageant with it, one I'd already won before, so I'd spent weeks planning my makeup, my outfit…" She looked up, expecting to tell William to stop laughing, but was surprised to find that his expression had not changed. Confused, but still determined, she went on.

"There's a lot I remember about that day. The prom was…it was my life for weeks before that. I was on the planning committee – head of it, actually – and I was setting up with them all afternoon. Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd were there…Herb and Nicolas, too, and…Tamiya, and Milly." Sissi's fingers twitched. "No, Milly and Tamiya weren't setting up. They were…filming. They were always filming. Except filming wasn't allowed, so I had to tell her to get lost. Milly stayed long enough for Ulrich to reject her invitation to Prom…

"I told her she was too young," Sissi's voice was dull and hollow. "Too young to go to Prom, or for any boy to like her. I told her to go play with her dolls…" William's eyebrows flew into his hair, but if he was expecting a further emotional reaction from Sissi he didn't get one. "We finished setting up, with Ulrich and his friends spurning me as usual, and I left for my room to get ready.

"But then, halfway through my face mask, my shelves collapsed. I ran right out, of course, but later I saw the room was completely trashed. I didn't think much of it then – my father told me it was because I'd overloaded my shelves. And I believed him. I got ready in my father's room, and then I went to the Prom…"

Sissi began speaking quickly. "For the longest time I couldn't find Ulrich, or any of his friends. I found Herb and Nicolas, of course, and they followed me around for the longest time, until finally I found Ulrich. And…something was up with him. He wasn't wearing anything particularly nice, and he looked…unsettled. I said something, I don't even remember what, and then the Beauty Queen thing started, so I dropped him like a rock…"

Sissi trembled. "But before my father could announce the winner, Ulrich interrupted us. He got on top of the DJ table and took the microphone. I…I remember exactly what he said…" Sissi's voice lowered, but only slightly, quietly and tonelessly imitating the boy she was quoting. "'Stop. Listen to what I have to say. You have all got to get out of here. We have to evacuate the auditorium. Now, keep calm. I'm not joking, this is serious. We are about to be attacked by a-'" Sissi choked. "'A gigantic teddy bear.'

"Of course, everyone laughed at him." She grabbed at her sweatpants. "I mean, how ridiculous does it sound? Even I was laughing. I said something like he was trying to stop me from being Beauty Queen or whatever…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And then the bear crashed through the wall."

Sissi's head dropped, and her eyes widened. "It was right in front of me," she said. "It was two stories tall, and its eyes…that was the first time I saw those eyes."

William clenched his teeth, the rest of his face contorted in an awkward expression. "I…" He felt like he had to say something, but his head was so full of her words that he hadn't been able to think of any of his own. "That's…"

"It was mayhem," Sissi went on without considering him. "People were running, screaming… the door was so jammed with people that no one could get out. I was fighting my way through, at first. I kept hearing crashes and screams behind me, but I only wanted to get away from them…

"But just as I was getting to the door, someone called my name. I looked up, and…it was Yumi. Yumi was just…standing there. She asked me if I had seen Ulrich, and I told her I didn't know where he was. She looked up over the crowd, and then…she went back. Back…towards the bear.

"Everyone else was out by then, so no one noticed her going the other way. I was the only one left in the doorway. I could see everything – everything destroyed – Ulrich – Ulrich on the floor, cowering under the bear's paw…but the bear was…it had frozen. It wasn't moving for some reason. Yumi ran up to him, right under the bear's paw, and…hugged him. I still can't believe it, I still don't know why. I turned around, I tried to yell…"

Sissi had frozen, her eyes wide, though her lips kept moving. "My father grabbed me and pulled me out. He didn't see them. Everyone was confused, no one could find anyone. My father…my father asked me why I hadn't run away, and I started to tell him that Ulrich and Yumi were…"

"But then…then the floor started shaking…" Sissi shook herself as she spoke. "My father…I can't even describe the look on his face…he shouted for everyone to run. So we did. We ran out of the building and across the quad…and while we did, the bear…the bear fell. It fell right into the auditorium."

For a long time, Sissi didn't speak. Then, her eyes glittering, she stood up, turning away from William as fast as she could. "I'm going to bed," she announced.

"Huh-wha?" William, who had been mesmerized by Sissi's story, snapped upward as if out of a trance. "But we only just started!" he blurted. "It's not even midnight yet-"

"I'm going to bed," Sissi repeated. Her fingers curled around the doorknob. "Don't follow me."

The narrative power had disappeared from Sissi's voice – it was as it had been again, short, terse, and cold. Still, William was not dismayed. He stood up behind her. "Is there any more?" he said.

Sissi's fingers clutched tighter, but they did not yet turn the door handle. "Tomorrow," she finally said. "Come back tomorrow."

And she opened the door and walked about without turning back. William stood behind for a moment, his fingers curling in their turn around the pencil in his pocket, before he left as well, heading for the stairs.

* * *

_January 20  
11:30 PM_

"It's strange, really. I remember so much about everything leading up to the bear's attack, but the rest of the night is a blur."

Sissi hadn't returned the next night. William had waited and waited outside her door, but she had not emerged, not even when he waited half an hour after midnight. He had filled up his waiting time with sketches – sketches of bears, plush and real, and boys and girls in evening dress – and by the time he gave up he had four pages full. The situation repeated itself the next night, and even the night after that, but on the fourth night, as he arrived later than usual, he found Sissi waiting for him, instead of the other way around.

"When the bear fell, they said the walls buckled. An hour later, the auditorium collapsed, and the entire east wing of the dorms on top of it."

They hadn't left right away: they'd sat, and they'd talked. Why didn't you come, William had said. I just couldn't, Sissi replied, I couldn't get the words to come, but tonight I think I can. Sometimes you can say these things and sometimes you can't, and for a long time I couldn't, but now I can. I bet you can, William had replied, given the novel you just told me now. Very funny, Sissi had said.

"No one was hurt. Everyone was out of the auditorium by then. Thomas Jolivet fell and broke his arm, but other than that people just had bruises and scrapes from trying to get out. Milly and Tamiya were the only ones left in the dorms that weren't at Prom. Later they told the police that Yumi had run into their room, saying that the building might collapse, and led them out before running back in to the auditorium. But they were in the west wing, anyway. They wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Should we go to the closet? William had said, but Sissi said no, it smells like paint, there has to be somewhere else. My room? William had offered. Silence. The cafeteria? Downstairs? The bathroom? Or, Sissi finally said, maybe we could just stay here. Sure, William had said, more eager to listen than he was to move.

"But Ulrich and Yumi…" Emotion returned slowly to Sissi's voice. "As soon as we got out, my father called the police, but they hung up on him – they didn't believe him. Then, they called back. The bear had charged through the streets before attacking the prom, and the stories added up. We were all out on the lawn – we didn't really have anywhere else to go – and we saw all these cars and vans pulling up. Police, medics, firemen, you name it…

"My father told the firemen about Ulrich and Yumi – told them they were under the bear's right paw. They were just about to go in when the building collapsed…but they went in anyway, even when it was still falling apart. It's…it was…"

The tremble came into her voice again, much sooner than it had the last time. "It didn't take them much time at all…they brought Yumi out first, and then Ulrich. I remember seeing them on the gurneys…they were alive…alive, but…just barely…"

William's hand twitched, but he only shuffled slightly closer as Sissi continued. "My father went with them in the ambulance. Jim and the other teachers stayed behind. We were just waiting on the lawn, because no one knew what to do. While we waited, Jim took roll...and that's how we found out Jeremie and Odd were missing."

"Missing?" William cut in suddenly. "You're right…they were…"

"Yes. It was on the news." Sissi hugged her knees close to her chest. "The firemen searched the building up and down, but they couldn't find them. They searched the grounds and the woods, too – nothing. They were still searching when my father got back. This was midnight, I know that."

She sighed. "My father kept telling me everything would be okay. But I couldn't...I didn't know what was going on, and I couldn't, I can't stand not knowing. I don't remember when I got to sleep, or what I did…I must have been stressed, or terrified or…or something. It seems like another planet, now. Another Sissi. You know. Or maybe you don't."

Sissi's eyes fell downward, away from William. "It's almost midnight," she said. "If you want to hear more you should get here sooner."

William had known the gist of what had happened in Bolougne-Billancourt – everyone had – but the details were still bouncing in his head. For the first time, he found himself thinking about his words before saying them. "Well," he finally said, "Maybe next time I won't have to skip the wait."

"Maybe," Sissi replied. She stood up, but didn't move from her spot. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"If you can," William found himself saying.

"Why not? I don't have anything else to do." Sissi turned away and walked towards the Room 404 door. "Goodnight," she added halfway there, and entered the room before William could decide whether or not to return the salutation.

* * *

_January 21  
11:10 PM_

"It was the worst week of my life."

"What?" William whispered, just a little louder than Sissi had. "I can't hear you."

"It was the worst week of my life!" Sissi hissed, leaning forward and shaking the mattress. "Maybe if you listen for once, you'll hear me! Do you want them to wake up?"

"What makes you think I'm not listening?" William shot back in a similar hiss. "They're not going to wake up!"

Just as the utility closet no longer suited their needs, so too had the hallway outlived its purpose. They had only just settled there when the same shower crowd, tired of the wait and the noise, had shooed them away. They were in Room 404 now, seated motionless on opposite ends of Sissi's mattress, whispering between furtive glances at her sleeping roommates. Luisa had coughed once, but otherwise all was still.

"If they do wake up, it's your fault." Sissi scooted forward slightly without raising her voice. "Can your delicate little ears hear this?"

"Sure, sure," William replied. "If it bothers you so much, we'd better get out of here fast."

"Trust me, Dunbar, I should be bothered." Sissi's mood was darker than usual – her brows were knit, and her hands trembled in her lap. William didn't know why, but as she didn't appear to be out of a storytelling mood, he didn't say anything. "Anyway. It was the worst week of my life."

"So you said."

"My father cancelled classes and everyone's parents were called to take them home. The school was only really open so that everyone could have a place to stay. But I couldn't go anywhere. I tried to get my father to take me to see Ulrich, but he was…" Sissi hesitated. "He was too busy. There were news vans everywhere. News vans, police, everything, and they all wanted to talk to my father. He didn't really have any time for me, not then. No one did.

"So I stayed in my room. Mostly. I slept a lot, and…I don't really remember what else I did. I heard people in the hallway talking, talking about it, but…I don't remember what they said. I was in shock. I thought my life was…well…I just couldn't believe it. It…it was there, but it wasn't…real." Sissi bit her lip, and paused for a long time. "Yeah. That was, yeah."

Sissi hugged her knees close to her body again, a position that appeared to give her strength. "That night, some of the kids...they gathered outside the auditorium and started…what do you call it…praying. Praying for Yumi and all them. I watched them from my window. For a minute. Then…then I couldn't look anymore.

"My father was at the hospital that whole night. In the morning, he came back and held an assembly for everyone that was left. Yumi had woken up that morning, he said, and was making a full recovery. Ulrich still hadn't, but doctors were…hopeful.

"But he was lying. I heard him talking to Jim later, about the truth. She was awake, but she was…she was just like you saw her. He said she'd been hit on the head. Other than that she just had some cuts and bruises, but Ulrich…his lungs…his lungs had…his lungs…and his heart…and just like Yumi…"

Sissi's voice grew quieter and quieter, until finally it vanished in a tremble of her lips. William didn't know whether or not to extend his hand, and he was somewhat relieved, emotionally, when Sissi gathered herself and moved ahead.

"But that wasn't for weeks. No, I believed it then. I was worried, everyone was. I asked my father if I could visit Ulrich, but his parents wouldn't allow visitors, no matter what I said." Sissi trembled. "Then, for a week, nothing changed. Every day, kids were picked up by their parents, or left for the airport. There was no more news on Ulrich or Yumi. People were searching and searching, but…they never found Belpois or Della Robbia. And the bear was still there. No one knew why, or where, or how…we didn't know, we didn't know at all…"

"It's okay," William said, but wished he hadn't. Sissi froze for some seconds, wide-eyed, before responding. "I know. I'm fine. Forget it."

"Forget what?"

"Nothing," Sissi insisted. Her fingers trembled against her arms. "The next thing I really remember was that Friday night. No, it was Saturday morning. One in the morning. Yes. Maybe. No. Anyway... I was almost asleep when my father came in. He looked… i can't describe it, but if you saw it, you'd know… I asked him what was going on, and he didn't answer. He tried, I think, but then he just…he sat down on the bed, and…"

Sissi moved her arms up to her chest and crossed them, digging her fingernails into her shoulders. "He apologized for waking me up. I asked again… 'Daddy, what's going on?' And he…it took him a long time, but he said, he said… 'Sissi…I'm sorry, Sissi…Ulrich…Ulrich's…"

She opened her mouth but could not continue to speak; instead, a low, powerless moan escaped, followed in shock by a loud sob. She threw her head down into her arms, and trembled for a moment before moaning again, muffled, but louder than before.

William was similarly lost for words. He extended his hand, hesitated for a second, then, finding courage where he never thought he had had it, placed it on her shoulder. Sissi twitched once, as if to force him off, but when she didn't make a more concentrated effort to remove him his other hand moved as well, and rested on her other shoulder without resistance.

They sat like this for some time, Sissi crying, William frozen with uncertainty. When she was able, she spoke through her sobs, words that came more slowly than before. "H-he hated me," she said over and over. "He hated me. Everyone h-hates me, even now...h-he said i w-was weak, and s-s-stupid, and-and mean...everyone...and h-he just...he and Y-Yumi...and Y-Yumi didn't...I could never...n-never..."

"It's okay, they're not-" William awkwardly started to say, eyes scanning for movement from the others in the room, but Sissi grabbed his neck and pulled his head toward her tear-stained face. "No it's not," she snapped. "They- he- he gave his life. He gave his life for us. And I didn't do a god-damn thing...I j-just made everything w-worse..."

Sissi's head fell into his chest, and the sobs continued. William opened his mouth to protest, but realized mid-thought that Sissi, for all her flaws, would realize when she was being lied to. So he held her, not moving his hands, for as long as she needed to be held. Neither of them spoke for a long, long time, not until William's watch alarm had signaled midnight for several minutes.

* * *

_January 23  
11:25 pm_

"They started making plans in the morning. Ulrich's parents wanted his body taken back to Strasbourg. They were going to leave in two days, with a brief visitation that evening at six o'clock."

They had gotten braver - they were back on the mattress, just like before, but now they were confident in the sleeping habits of Sissi's roommates. Mr. Delmas slept like a rock, even through his daughter's tears. Luisa mumbled in her sleep, but never intelligibly. Mr. Mermond snored, but never stirred; Matthieu was fitful, but had never once looked their way. They had woken Celine up ten minutes earlier, but with a short, made-up story she was fast asleep again. Yumi was awake, wide awake, but they tried not to look at her.

"Did you go?" William said, moving his hand closer to her side.

"I'm getting to that," Sissi said, quietly but not in a whisper. "My father made an announcement around noon. No one really knew what to do. There was a bus to the visitation center leaving at five, so at four o'clock, everyone was in their dorms, preparing."

William noticed that Sissi hadn't mentioned any of her personal experiences from that day as of yet. Perhaps she hadn't trusted herself with her memories, and didn't want to repeat the previous meeting's breakdown. If he had needed the information, he would have goaded her for it as he had before, but now that she was being agreeable, he no longer saw a reason to. Ulrich, he found, he had no interest in hearing about. "And then?" was all he said.

Sissi's expression clouded slightly, but in a different way than when she had been talking about Ulrich. "At four-thirty, I was...ready. I opened my door to leave my room, and saw that the hallway was filled with a strange, purple haze..."

"I remember this," William interrupted. "I saw this on the news..."

"Like a fool I stepped out, but before I knew what was going on, I couldn't breathe. I tried to get back into my room, but the haze had gotten in when I opened the door...I was lucky that Jim was going by, looking for anyone that was still in their rooms. He stuck a damp cloth over my nose and mouth and led me out of the building.

"He took me to the lawn, where the haze wasn't as thick. Everyone else was out there already - my father, the teachers, and everyone else that was left, thirty other students. My father said that every building was like the dorms - choked with poison gas. The gas was spreading rapidly, and the younger kids were having difficulty breathing, so we escaped the campus completely. That was the last time I ever entered Kadic. The adults went back for food and water, but they didn't let the students go back for anything. All I had on me was my phone and some lipstick.

"We took to the streets. No one talked about why the school was poisoned. We just wanted to escape...but with two attacks in one week, it was all in the back of my mind. My father tried to call an emergency line, but, well...you know they were all tied up. It was happening all over the city. Anything and everything. Gas attacks in apartment buildings. Fleeing people choking the streets. We were trapped for a while, with everyone calling for help as much as they could. I called, too - I was scared, and more than anything I wanted to see Ulrich -"

Sissi felt her voice speeding up, and took a breath to steady herself. "But that's so old," she said, not at all dismissive. "But then there was the second wave. The electronics malfunctions. The phones..." Sissi rubbed her hand absently over a small red scar on her thumb. "The phones were violent. Most people threw theirs away. I shut mine in my bag, not that it did any good. But...it was mayhem. Phones, computers...even a car...it was then that we knew, that whatever had created the bear and attacked us, it wasn't finished with us.

"The streets were full for days. No one could go inside, and not even outside was completely safe. The military had promised to evacuate everyone, but no one could help anyone fast enough." Sissi sat in silence for some moments, as if debating what to say next. "I…we…we couldn't stay in Bolougne-Billancourt. Nowhere was worse than there, nowhere more violent or thick with…people…"

Sissi shook her head. Her voice was more hollow than ever. "It took us a whole day to get out and stop somewhere that was…clean. I'm amazed we all made it, but my father was determined to keep us together and…and alive. We ended up in a cemetery, and camped there for four days. We had some food and water, but we had to ration it, since it was all we had. But we weren't starving, and we weren't hurt. We would hear rumors from other parts of town, and once in a while we'd see a car without a driver, but otherwise, we were lucky…"

Sissi paused for a moment. "But I complained," she finally said, surprising William. "I was hungry, cold, bored, scared. It was different every minute. I complained to Herb, and Nicolas, and anyone that would listen…which was only Herb and Nicolas. Everyone else was either busy, or just…couldn't. And in the back of my mind, I still…I had this belief that whatever this was, it would end, and we'd all go to the viewing. I…"

Sissi looked down. "I couldn't stop thinking. Thinking about…him, there, so close. Thinking about what he'd say, seeing me this way."

William prepared himself for tears, but none came. Sissi looked conflicted, conflicted and hurt at that moment, but he had begun to notice that whenever she finished saying something difficult, she looked substantially relieved. She was forcing the words out for a reason, that much he could tell. "What happened to Yumi?" he found himself saying.

"Escaped with her family , I guess. We didn't know." Sissi looked up when she was done. "Why?"

"You didn't say."

"Alright." Sissi said. "On the afternoon of the fourth day, the caravans came by the hundreds. It was a mob scene – everyone got up at the same time to try to get in one. The teachers tried their best, but in the end, we were split up. It was a miracle that my father and I got in a caravan, even more that he managed to keep ten people with us. But a lot of people were lost in the crowd. Kids from my class, Mrs. Hertz, Jim…we never saw them again once the doors shut.

"The caravans were dark, and cramped, and we didn't know where we were going, but they were better than…than outside. We had enough food and water to last a month, we had a real bathroom and shelter from the rain…it was strange how fast things had changed, that these things were…so precious.

"We traveled for four days in that caravan. Some days we'd stop, waiting at a refugee site, only to be turned away because it was full. We entertained ourselves by swapping stories. Some of them…they were shocking at the time, but they'd happen a thousand times again before we left France. Injuries, poisonings, tramplings…after a few days, no one could surprise us anymore."

Sissi slumped against the wall. "Well?" she said.

"Well, what?" William looked somewhat ruffled – he had not had luck figuring out what to say in response to her words, and the rush did not suit him. "That's…that's terrible."

"Thanks," Sissi said. "I didn't know."

William chuckled before he could catch himself, but once he had he found that Sissi was laughing as well. He laughed again, more calmly, to match her laugh, then looked at his watch. "It's midnight," he said. "Are you going to need much longer?"

Sissi put her hand to her chin. "One more night. Why, do you have anything better to do?"

"No, I don't believe I do." William looked to the side. "You know, you've changed a lot since the boiler room."

Sissi looked honestly surprised. "I have?" she said.

"Yeah," William said. "Your jokes are better, for one."

An odd shadow came over Sissi's face – her eyes were tight with nerves, but her smile was cool and calm. "Are they?" she said under her breath, and then, somewhat louder, "Better than perfect? Impossible."

"Don't give yourself too much credit." William stood up, stretching his arms up high. "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure, why not," Sissi said, looking up. "And remember, when I'm done, you have to tell your story."

William stopped short mid-stretch. "Heh, I'll remember," he said with a smile. He grabbed his clipboard, gave Sissi one last silent wave, and then departed.

* * *

_January 24  
11:00 pm_

"We were finally left off at a shelter in Rouen. It was smaller than this, and cramped, and you couldn't leave without three days' notice. We lived there the same way we had in the graveyard, except that we could shower and watch the news. Paris had been evacuated, we found out, and whatever had attacked us there was spreading into the countryside…of course, _they_ were only rumors, then."

"Was Milly with you?" William interrupted. "And Herb and Nicolas, you mentioned them yesterday. Who are they?"

Sissi stiffened. "Why are you asking all of a sudden?"

"Well, I already know the things you're telling me about the evacuations and the attacks," William continued, putting his arms behind his head. "Come on, tell me something I don't know."

Sissi looked away, but grinned. "I think I liked it more when you were afraid to talk."

"I wasn't afraid, I was being respectful." William made a mocking face. "You're the one that won't tell me anything."

"Fine, fine!" Sissi took a deep breath. "Yes, Milly was there, and Tamiya, too. And Herb and Nicolas, they were…these two nerds that always used to follow me around. Said they were my fan club or something. No matter how much I pushed them away, they kept coming back. And I guess, eventually, I stopped trying." Sissi smiled a small smile. "They listened to me when no one else would. They told me that we'd be going home soon…"

"Makes sense," William. "Milly, was she, y'know…"

Sissi's answer was long coming. "She only talked to Tamiya. I don't know where Tamiya is."

"Okay," William said. "Well…what happened after Rouen?"

"We stayed there for a week. No, a week and a half." Sissi looked slightly relieved. "But then, in the middle of the night, they started waking us up and putting us in the caravans again. They wouldn't tell us why, and they wouldn't keep groups together. That was where we lost them…Milly and the rest…it was a miracle that my father and I ended up in the same caravan. We were the tenth to go, but even then, as we were fleeing the city, we could hear scrapings and bangs against the side…

"That time, we were in the caravan for another week. We were one of the last to get through the Channel before they closed the tunnel. We made a stop in London, just for one night, but London…well, London didn't need _them _to be a terrible place. So we went across Britain, getting turned away from full shelters…and I guess at some point we crossed the sea and came here." Sissi shrugged lightly. "And that's that."

* * *

Hope that was enjoyable!

- Carth


	10. Salomon

Hey, guys! It's been a while, again, but I'm still going at it! I'm also working on a novel of my own, but I'm trying to do both at the same time, so hopefully I'm quickening my pace! Please enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Ten  
Salomon**

_January 24  
11:10 pm_

Without the speech, without the caution, without image after image playing havoc in their heads, the night was still and silent. William and Sissi, still and silent themselves, fit perfectly within it – they were seated against the wall, practically blending into it, with no more than a comfortable distance between them.

"That's amazing," William said, suddenly but softly.

"Hm?" Sissi started and looked over. "What is?"

"Well, everything." William looked up, and pressed his hands against the wall. "We're not actually supposed to ask you guys about France, but I can't say I'm sorry I did."

Sissi took a moment to respond. "I don't think I've thought about it much myself. Until now, anyway." Her face fell as she spoke. "Not that thinking is actually going to change everything that's… well, gone wrong."

"Now, see, that's where we disagree," William said with a hint of a grin. "Knowing what you know, and knowing what I know, I think we've got some pretty…versatile thoughts. If you know what I mean."

"No," Sissi said. "No, I don't really know what you mean."

"Because you don't know what I know," William said. "Maybe when you do, you'll change your tune. This past week has been…reassuring, as far as I'm concerned, and maybe soon you'll feel the same way."

"Go on, then," Sissi said, with a grin to match his. "Tell me what you know. Or whatever you think is important."

"Alright then." William shifted himself to face Sissi. "I won't keep you on the edge of your seat any more…"

"Well, kind of like you, my life wasn't really all that interesting up until this fall. I lived in Cardiff – that's in Wales, that strange place across the sea – with my mum and dad, and when I was eleven they sent me to this place, my dad's old school. And I went here for three years, doing stuff, minding my own business, until October 8th of last year, the same day your bear attacked."

Sissi's eyebrows flew into her hair. "What happened?"

"Well, as far as I can remember, nothing. But that's the thing. I remember waking up, going to breakfast, lounging in my room a bit…and then the next thing I remember is waking up the next day, October 9th. Everything in between is a blur. I couldn't remember the previous day at all. I was disoriented for a while, but I just chalked it up to me being tired and went to breakfast.

"But when I got there, everyone had their eyes glued to the news. I saw your school, and the teddy bear you were talking about. I distinctly remember seeing your father being interviewed, too. When I asked my classmates what was going on, they were amazed that I didn't know. It was all anyone talked about all day – what the bear might be, who sent it, whether it was aliens or terrorists or anything anyone could come up with. Of course, when there wasn't anything new on it for three or four more days, it sort of died down and we went on with our lives."

"Lucky you."

"Well, it's not like that lasted very long," William went on. "A week later, everything started happening in France, and we were glued to the screens again, watching, well, everything you just told me. Once they started evacuating everyone, the nuns got a message from the main organization saying that the school was to be used as a shelter if need be. Students were given two options: they could return to their families and transfer schools, or stay on and care for the refugees for class credit. Of course, half the school left overnight, but I stayed. Clearly."

William had a pained expression. "Well…I'll be honest. I wanted to leave. I _really_ wanted to leave. But when I called my parents…well, it turned out that they had been in Lyon for a week, visiting my aunt. They were being evacuated to Nice. There was no way for them to get home, or for me to get to them. So I stayed here. It was the easiest thing to do."

Sissi's eyes were wide as saucers. "You…never told me that."

"Didn't need to." William shrugged. "They're in Corsica now. Last time they called, they were alright. Of course, that was three weeks ago…but enough about that. We weren't needed for two weeks, so we just kept having classes for lack of anything better to do. But around that time, I started having some really strange dreams. Not strangely strange, even, but strangely…normal."

"Dreams aren't that important," Sissi said. She still looked unnerved, but William did notice that she was looking up at him with somewhat more friendliness in her eyes.

"Just you wait," he said. "I dreamed about school. And not even showing up to an exam late or forgetting to put my pants on or anything. Just…going to school. Night after night. About the only strange thing about these dreams was that there were people there that had already gone home. Of course, I didn't really bother to remember them, or really pay them any attention, until we were called to be a shelter and you all showed up. Then…well…the dreams started changing.

"There was a girl that kept showing up in them. I can't remember her face or anything about her, but she was there again and again. Then, one night, a week after I saw you by the tree, I dreamed I was walking around the school, putting up pieces of paper I couldn't read on every surface, even the principal's windshield. The only other thing I remember is that later in the dream, that girl was there, screaming at me.

"After that the school dreams ended, pretty realistically actually. The next night I dreamed about travelling back to Cardiff, and the night after that about my parents yelling at me, and the night after that about sitting in my room back home. It wasn't until then that I realized that not only were my dreams making a sort of collective story, but it was a story that made sense in a way dreams don't normally. I started keeping that notebook, and wrote and drew about my dreams in there. It was casual for a while – sometimes I'd skimp on details or skip a night or two – but I knew I had to take it seriously when I dreamed about Christmas at home on Christmas night here."

William furrowed his brow. "I shouldn't go on until I ask if you believe me."

Sissi pursed her lips at him. "Well, to be honest," she said, "No. But you're not done."

"No I'm not, because Christmas was just the tip of the iceberg – and here's the part I think might interest you. Right around the beginning of January, my dreams started changing again, in a big way. One night I dreamed I was on a plane and not much else, and the next night, I dreamed I was at school…but it wasn't Avenshire, or any school I'd ever seen. My dreams are hazy, I don't remember much, but I can remember this school's name because I'd heard it before, on the news. Kadic Academy, in Bolougne-Billancourt."

William paused to gauge Sissi's reaction. She had an odd look on her face, as if she had just swallowed a lemon, but did not appear to be about to pass judgment, so he went on before she could think to begin. "For a while, I didn't make the connection. I was curious, but I couldn't make heads or tails of where I was or why I'd changed schools. But then, well, then things started getting interesting." He smiled a small smile. "I met a girl."

Sissi's lemon face grew tighter. "A…girl?" she blurted. "Why is that important? Why is any of this important?"

"Oh, this wasn't any ordinary dream girl. You know why?" William looked over at the Ishiyama camp. "Because it was her."

"H-her?" Sissi turned her head slowly, like clockwork, to Yumi's mattress. She was asleep at the moment, but that didn't stop Sissi from recoiling slightly, away from her and away from William. "You can't be…you can't really…"

"But this wasn't your Yumi Ishiyama," William went on, ignoring Sissi's distress. "This one walked, and talked, and didn't show any signs of being attacked by a giant teddy bear. After I saw her for the first time, I had a lot of dreams about her. It seems that, in this dream, we're supposed to be friends. But why should you believe that? I could easily be lying about all this. But I think the dealmaker is what I know about _her _friends. I never spoke to them much, but they'd show up from time to time, always on the edges, calling her away…"

William pulled out his notebook page again, the same one Sissi had found weeks ago, and held it in front of her widened eyes. "Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich… Stern, and…" He tapped his finger on the unfamiliar girl. "Her. I can never remember her name, or any of their faces. But if I've never seen them before, how do I know what they look like at all?"

Sissi looked rapidly around the notebook page, then reached for it with trembling hands. "T-t-this is ridiculous," she stammered. "T-this is c-completely insane…"

"You're telling me," William said, surrendering the paper to her. "They're the most vivid, but all those other people you mentioned, Jim, your father, Milly and Tamiya and Herb and Nicolas, I saw them all. And not just them, either…"

He pointed at the drawing labeled _Sissi Delmas, the principal's daughter_. "I gotta say, I was pretty shocked when you showed up," he said. "You ran into me, then called _me_ a dork. That wasn't very nice of you. Anyway, Yumi was the one who told me your name, and said you were a…well, I'll just say I got the impression that you guys didn't really get along. I didn't think anything of it in the dream, but when I woke up, I knew where I'd seen you. And just my luck that I ran into you that day, and that you answered to your name!"

William shifted himself to fully face Sissi. "That's my tale. Any questions?"

He grinned at Sissi's harrowed face. She was looking from him to the paper and back again, and looked both shocked and confused. She didn't speak for some time, but when she did it was short and terse. "What are you?" she said.

"That's what I've been hoping you could help me with." William shifted closer to Sissi; instinctively, she backed away. "It's strange that my dreams have been hijacked by an ongoing story, even strangerthat I'm dreaming about real people that I've never met and real places I've never seen participating in events that never happened, stranger _still _that you were all closely tied to an all-encompassing cataclysmic event..." William made a thoughtful face. "And, strangest of all in fact, that despite a thousand mile distance, you, your father, Yumi, and Milly all ended up in my lap. Do you…know anything that could enlighten me?"

Sissi opened her mouth immediately, but let it hang silent for a long time before closing it and looking down. "…No."

"Can't say I'm surprised," William said. "But, after hearing your story, I think I can enlighten _you._"

Sissi looked up again, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I think Ulrich and Yumi knew about the bear long before it attacked," William said. "And if they were that close, I think Jeremie and Odd knew, too. You knew them better than I do, what do you think?"

Sissi had expected to be shocked by William's words, but to her surprise, she felt quite an opposite way. Her face contorted rather than expanded – her brows furrowed, her eyes flashed like fire, and her brain worked overtime to speed through as many memories as possible.

Jeremie and Odd, gone without a trace. Yumi, fighting past her to get to Ulrich. Ulrich, attacked by hundreds of students laughing at the thought of pain. The bear. The Prom. Ulrich, in day clothes – he had come in a hurry. Her father's words, suddenly remembered – "I saw Della Robbia just outside the infirmary last evening, inquiring after Jim, though I can't imagine why." The destruction of her room. Ulrich, Yumi, Odd Jeremie, loitering always where they shouldn't be, and hurrying away – excuses, tardiness, secrets whispered between classes, wiped off the face of the earth…by chance, astounding, but by design…

"No," she found herself saying. "It's impossible – they- they were students, they-" Hot anger boiled in her throat. "How? But…all those secrets…No, it's impossible," she backpedaled. "They were victims, powerless …you're mocking their pain…!"

"I was wrong, then," William said. Sissi grimaced at him for a long time, determined not to lose her pride, but soon enough her face fell.

"Maybe not," she finally said, looking him in the eye. "But we'll never know for sure. Ulrich…well…_they_'re gone."

"True," William said. "But they were here, once. And who knows how much they left behind?"

It took Sissi a moment to figure out what William was trying to say. "If you're trying to make me do something, or think something, you should stop. You're a student, I'm a refugee… we're powerless."

"Do you think that's how they thought?" William said. "The bear _did _defeat them, but do you think they expected it to?"

William's words struck an odd chord with Sissi, putting thoughts in her head that she wasn't used to having. She looked more closely at his confident smile, the like of which she hadn't seen in many, many months. "You're assuming they didn't," she said.

"I don't really have any other options." William glanced at his watch. "It's almost one. What should we do?"

"Well," Sissi said in a heavily sarcastic tone, "_I_ can't see anything to do but go to the bed I still have. If you have any more miracle visions, you can let me know."

"And so I will." William stood up. "See you tomorrow?" He got no answer – Sissi was digging in her suitcase, looking for bedclothes. William shrugged, turned around, and headed for the door.

* * *

_January 27  
6:00 pm_

The tomato hit the window with a loud _bang, _splattering rotted juice across the glass before it slid down the pane and out of sight.

It wasn't the first rotted fruit that Sissi had heard hit Avenshire that day, but it was the first one that had been thrown high enough to hit Room 404 in particular. The day had been punctuated with _bangs_, and even a _crack_ around noon – it was enough to stand out from any other day, but not enough, or frequent enough, to get its inhabitants to wonder what was going on.

Indeed, the weekday routine had not been broken much at all in Room 404 so far. The working adults had not yet returned – indeed, they would not for another hour. Akiko had her back turned to this scene, and focused only on spoon-feeding her daughter her dinner. Luisa had swollen even larger as of late, and did not often leave her mattress. She was chatting with Sra. Yates, as she usually did during the day, but smiled and waved at everyone else when she could, as was her habit. Matthieu had been feeling ill as of late, and the illness had shattered his good cheer; he was sitting upright on his mattress, covered in a blanket even though he was shirtless, and staring up at the tomato splotch on the window with a hard look in his eyes.

Without Matthieu to amuse them, Sissi and William were, at the moment, the playthings of the children. Lucille had taken charge of this latest game – she had made William stack her sisters' mattresses on top of her own, and now he, Sissi, Magali, Celine, and Hiroki were stuck at the bottom of the pile, bowing at Lucille's command.

"LISTEN UP!" Lucille yelled at the top of her lungs, brandishing a paper towel tube scepter at the kneelers below. "I'm the queen of Phorofor, and you all are my servants. Serve me!" she commanded.

"How?" Magali piped up. She was seated very close to Hiroki, an arrangement Hiroki was trying his best to ignore.

"Don't interrupt your queen!" Lucille yelled, pointing her scepter at her. "You will serve me by bowing and giving me ANYTHING I want!"

"And then what?" Magali continued.

"Nothing! I'm the queen, and you're my servants, and you do what I say!"

"Can I be the queen next? Hiroki can be the king." Magali looked over at Hiroki with a grin on her face. Hiroki blushed deep red and turned away, too flustered to say anything.

"NO! I told you already, I am the only queen!" Lucille crossed her arms in a huff. "You're going to serve me, and nobody and nothing else!"

William raised his hand, but only out of habit. "Queen Lucille," he said, "I think your methods are unjust and unfair for the people. I'm declaring a republic."

"They don't know what that is," Sissi hissed.

"At least I'm trying to have fun," William hissed back. Sissi rolled her eyes, but did not turn her head. William had not come to Room 404 at night for some time, and neither of them had ever brought up their visits during the day, or indeed interacted much at all when there were others in earshot. Lucille's game was the closest they'd been to each other in days.

Queen Lucille's laughter interrupted Sissi's thoughts. "Silence! There will be no republics! I am the only one who declares! Only me, only me!"

William put his hand on his chin, as if to think of a retort, but before he could, Sissi had a sudden idea. "If you're so high and mighty," she said, "Why don't you come down here and prove it?"

Lucille's eyes widened at the sight of Sissi participating, but at the same time a grin spread across her face. "You dare challenge me?" she said gleefully. "VERY WELL!"

Lucille hopped off the mattress stack, but not long after she pointed her scepter at Sissi, she noticed that Sissi was no longer there. When she turned around, she found Sissi climbing to the top of the stack and seating herself in Lucille's place. "Now I'M the queen!" she said triumphantly. "How d'you like that?"

Sissi found she had to choke back laughter at the look on Lucille's face. With a mighty roar, she lunged for the mattresses, but didn't do much more than claw at Sissi's pants, yelling about unfairness. It wasn't long before Sissi could no longer contain herself. With a loud shout of laughter, she kicked Lucille away, knocking her over but hardly harming her. When she hit the ground, she looked up at Sissi, and her eyes were wide with surprise. This set her laughing too, and William and Magalia had joined in, laughing hysterically. Even Hiroki giggled through his nerves, and somber Celine managed a faint smile.

Together they made a terrific noise, so much so that the adults couldn't help but look up at it. Akiko only gave it a glance, and Matthieu watched with a silent smile, but Luisa's face lit up at the sight. "Nunca los habia visto tan contentos, ¡especialmente a Sissi!" she said to Sra. Yates. "Estas cosas me llenan de esperanza, aunque este lugar tenga tan triste aspecto. No es mi intencón ofenderla, claro; su escuela es maravillosa, pero no muy hogareña."

"No se preocupe," Sra. Yates replied, folding her hands in her lap. "Lamento mucho que no la hayan cambiado de habitación. Ya no han hecho mas esfuerzos para establecerles una residencia permanente, como dijeron en noviembre."

"¿De que sirve quejarse? No cambiará nada," Luisa patted her stomach absentmindedly. "Me gustaría poderles decirselo personalmente. Debí poner mas atención en mis clases."

"Bueno, ¡pues para eso estoy yo!" Sra. Yates said. She turned herself towards William. [Mr. Dunbar!]

[Wha- yes?] William turned away from the game, which had gone on beyond the laughter. [What is it?]

[Luisa has a message for the room,] Sra. Yates said. [If you could relay it to them-] She stopped short, and looked at the door. [What is that sound?]

[Huh?] William turned to look where Sra. Yates was looking, and heard loud, fast footsteps in the hall. "I hear it too," he said, translating the message for everyone else. "The knob's turning. Someone's coming in!"

Sissi and the adults turned their attention to the door, which had, by that time, been thrown open. When they saw who was standing in the doorway, they couldn't believe their eyes. Mr. Delmas, the Mermonds, and Mr. Ishiyama never got off work early, and yet there they were, looking more haggard than they ever did after a full day's work.

Akiko was the first to react. "Darling!" she said, standing up and addressing her husband. "What are you doing back so soon-"

"A curfew," Mr. Delmas announced, interrupting her. "They've set a curfew for the refugees."

A hush fell over the room. Luisa and Sra. Yates looked confused, but Akiko's face wrinkled, Matthieu's was slowly darkening, and Sissi and William shot each other surprised looks. Magali, Lucille, Celine, and Hiroki, who did not quite understand the situation, ran immediately for their parents' arms, but did not say a word. Before long however, Akiko and Matthieu exploded in protest – "What do they mean, curfew? Are they cutting your hours?" "What do they think is wrong with us now, huh?"

"Give us a moment and I'll explain," Mr. Delmas went on as all of the adults walked back toward their camps. "William, can you relay this to Sra. Yates and Luisa? Sissi, put my mattress back where it's meant to be."

"Yes, sir," William said, standing up with Sissi. As he walked towards Luisa's camp, Sissi turned to her father with an incredulous look on her face. "Why should I put these back?" she said. "Lucille was the one that stacked them up!"

"Sissi, this is not the time," her father said. He had a heavy, worn look on his face, the kind that Sissi knew would increase his stubbornness, so she did as she was told. She replaced her father's mattress as well as her own, but left the girls' untouched in their pile. This done, she sat down on her mattress her father set his bag down by the side of the mattress and set himself next to her. As soon as everyone was settled in their places, all eyes turned to Mr. Delmas as he began to speak.

"A refugee man from a city shelter attacked a Dublin woman last night, at about three in the morning," he said in a heavy tone. "The woman lived, but…just barely. The man wasn't in his right mind, and hadn't been for months, or so I hear. But with that, not to mention the stories from London, martial law's been up in arms to defend Dublin from us all. Six o'clock curfew, job restrictions…and not so warm a reception anymore, as I see." Mr. Delmas glanced over at the tomato residue, which was freezing on the window.

"But we didn't do anything," Matthieu spat, brushing his sister-in-law, who had been examining his forehead, away. "He wasn't even from Avenshire. Why are they punishing us?"

"No one's been told anything, of course," Mr. Delmas said. Across the room, Luisa gasped – the message had only just gotten to her. "But I have a feeling that the people of Dublin have been looking for an excuse like this for some time. Very few of them are happy that we're using up their resources and taking their jobs."

"But that only means that things will get worse, won't it?" Akiko held Hiroki closer to her breast, despite his slight struggling, and looked uncertainly at her husband and daughter. "Where will we go if they make us leave?"

"That I know that they cannot do," Mr. Delmas said. "But they can defend themselves from us, and I don't know how far that will take them." He looked down at his mattress, and shook his head. "Indeed, I don't know anything else. I'm sorry."

Mr. Delmas turned away from the room to focus on his suitcase, into which he placed his coat. The Mermond and Ishiyama camps whispered amongst each other as he did so, cut with Luisa's indignant if unintelligible shouts. Sissi was the only one who did not appear to react; she lay back on her mattress, looking up at the ceiling, looking as prone and defenseless as she often believed she was.

"You seemed to be having a good time over there, Sissi," she could hear her father saying, but didn't respond at first. After a few seconds, she saw him sitting back on his mattress out of the corner of her eye. "Weren't you? With William and the girls?"

"Yeah," Sissi said, still looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess I was."

"Damn them, haven't we had enough trouble?" Matthieu shouted from across the room before, after some whispers from his brother and sister-in-law, he was rendered inaudible. Mr. Delmas ignored him and went on to answer his daughter. "I know it's hard to hear, Sissi, but it's not the worst thing that could ever happen to us."

"You're not going to do anything," Sissi said, hardly making it sound like a question.

Mr. Delmas did not answer for a long time, and when he did, his tone was low and downtrodden. "No, no I won't. When our lives and sanity depend on these things, that's a luxury we can't really afford."

"So you say," Sissi said just as softly. She felt uneasy in her position, so she sat up, swinging herself to face her father. It had never struck her before how shabby his suit was getting, or how deep the circles under his eyes – perhaps, as she then realized, because she had never known to look. She couldn't stand focus on it for long, so she swung her gaze down to the pen and paper in his hand. There were several words written on it, but even with a cursory glance Sissi could tell that they were simply repetitions of three different phrases – _Yes_, _No_, and _I don't know_. "Are you…going to see Milly?"

"Well, I was, yes," Mr. Delmas said, looking down at them. "I haven't for quite a while, and with the extra time tonight it's a marvelous opportunity." He paused for a moment, mulling over his next words. "I don't quite want to broach the subject with her, but if she ever asks, would you like to join me-"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I know that things weren't…their best, before, but I do believe that with enough time, Milly could benefit from another familiar face-"

"I wouldn't," Sissi said, rather harder than she had meant.

"Okay, I understand." Mr. Delmas stood up, and put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I'll see you at dinner, sweetheart." He tried to smile at her, but withdrew when he felt his daughter's muscles tensing under his hands.

Once he turned and walked back for the door, Sissi shuffled in her seat again, unable to find a comfortable position or state of mind. She had no time to dive into her thoughts before a weight on her left side told her that someone else had come to sit with her. "So," William said. "What's the old man doing this time?"

"None of your business."

"Now where have I heard that before?"

"He's the one that told me I had to get used to living here. That things were only going to get better. But now…" Sissi sighed heavily. "I don't even know if he thinks that."

William opened his mouth, but found he couldn't answer, so they sat quietly for a while, fidgeting with their hands. William shot curious glances at Sissi's unreadable face for some time, then took a deep breath. "Y'know, there's another event, on Saturday night…"

"I'm not going to a dance," Sissi said.

"It's not a dance," William said. "There aren't enough students left for that, and the one we had was a disaster anyway. _One_ kid showed up drunk and the nuns cancelled the whole thing. I really don't know what they were expecting."

"Was it you?"

William didn't answer. "It'll just be sitting around with popcorn watching a movie. Kind of a borefest, but you know how it is. They're making me go as an interpreter, but…" He paused, considering his words. "If at least one person came that didn't bore me to tears…"

Sissi tensed. "What makes you think we're friends?"

"Not your pride, clearly." William shrugged. "It's your call, I'm just telling you it exists."

"Hm." Sissi looked over at William. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"There's that enthusiasm!" William's grin, unlike Mr. Delmas's, was completely sincere. "So, remember anything else about your friends?"

Before Sissi could respond, a scream from across the room interrupted them both: "¡LUISA!" The possibilities behind it pushed everything else out of their minds; they both jumped up at the same time and looked over at Luisa's mattress. Everyone else in the room had done what they had just done, apart from , who was bent over Luisa's mattress, patting her back. Luisa herself was curled up in a ball, gritting her teeth and holding her stomach. The bottom of her dress and half the mattress were soaked with a clear liquid. "Mi…mi hijo…" she was repeating softly.

"Is that…" Sissi began to say to William, but was interrupted by his nod – she didn't have to finish. All at once the adults of Room 404 descended on Luisa, creating such a fuss that Sissi and William could only barely determine what they were trying to do. Mr. Mermond and Mr. Ishiyama were trying to hold her up ("Don't worry, Luisa, we've got you!") while Akiko and Sandrine, the only ones in the room who had actually given birth, were swatting the mens' hands away and pushing her back down ("What do you think you're doing? Give her some room!") Matthieu, ill as he was, kept his distance, but he alone could not manage to keep his nieces under control, and in the end could only restrain Celine – Lucille and Magali ran and jumped around the commotion, shrieking about the possibility of a new baby.

"Looks like this is going to be a fun night!" William folded his arms and grinned. Neither he nor Sissi had moved, nor had they been needed to, and they watched the commotion with interest. "You know, as awesome as I am, you don't have to do everything I do. If you want to look you can."

"I've never seen anything like this," Sissi said without turning her head, sounding uneasy. She couldn't actually see Luisa through the bodies around her, but the liquid, whatever it was, had her rattled enough. "If I just stay here and don't say anything…"

"¡Tranquilos, estoy bien!" Luisa yelled suddenly above the commotion around her. "¡Pueden faltar horas para que nazca mi bebé! No tienen porque hacer tanto alboroto, ¡ustedes no son médicos profecionales!" Her words sparked even more commotion, from the crowd, who could not understand her in the slightest.

Only Sra. Yates could answer her – "¿Ya quiere ir a la enfermería, Luisa? ¡Ahí la pueden ayudar más!" Then, louder, she continued – [Mr. Dunbar! William, can you hear me?]

[Huh? Oh, right here!] William shrugged at Sissi, then ran closer to Luisa's mattress, leaving Sissi alone by her own. [Do you need me to tell them anything, Señora?]

[Yes, in fact. Tell them that Luisa doesn't need to be crowded – we only need two of them to take us to the infirmary. Then go ahead there and tell them she's coming.]

[Understood,] William said. He opened his mouth to call Room 404 to attention, but found he didn't have to – all eyes were already on the translator. "Luisa says not to worry, the baby isn't coming yet-"

"But it COULD!" Magali blurted out.

"But it _isn't,_" William said as Mr. Mermond clamped a hand over his daughter's mouth. "But she and Sra. Yates say that they should be taken to the infirmary by two, no more. I'll leave you to puzzle that out, I guess…" Without another word, William gathered up his clipboard and sped out the door.

Sandrine spoke up almost immediately after he left. "Okay, Akiko and I will go with Sra. Yates. Everyone else-"

"Wait a minute!" Akiko said, looking more frazzled than the rest. "Sandrine, I'm sorry, but I can't…I can't leave Yumi for that long…"

It hit Sissi suddenly that she had never seen Akiko leave Room 404 without Yumi, not even to use the bathroom, but she couldn't have predicted what Matthieu would shout across the room – "Why not? She isn't going anywhere!"

A tense silence fell. Akiko looked down at the ground, her mouth a hard line, and stepped backwards from Sandrine without another word. Her husband fell back to join her and placed a hand on her shoulder, staring daggers at the Mermonds. While Mr. Mermond looked on with apprehension, Sandrine was the only one that, while shocked, could hardly be bothered – there were evidently larger things on her mind. "We still need someone," she said brusquely. "Preferably female…"

Her eyes fell immediately on the Delmas camp. "Sissi, come grab her other arm."

"What? But…" Sissi balked very briefly, but inside that moment her eyes darted across the room, from the glowering Ishiyamas and stony Mermonds to the smile on Luisa's sweat-soaked face that seemed to be directed right at her. Before she could think, the word was out of her mouth. "Okay."

From the look on her face, Sandrine was just as surprised by Sissi's response as she was, but she didn't make any note of it. "Then there's no time to lose," she said instead.

After a small nod to Luisa, she grabbed her arm, and Sissi walked around and did the same. Together the three of them stood up, and, with Sra. Yates behind them, they walked for the door. They moved slowly, and with difficulty, but despite her pain Luisa was still smiling at Sissi. "Gracias, Sissi," she said slowly. "Nos estás haciendo un gran favor."

Sissi didn't know how to answer, so she smiled faintly and nodded. Before long, they left Room 404 and began making their way down the hall. The door closed behind them fairly quickly, but not before one stray sentence – "You know, you could have offered her Yumi's wheelchair…" managed to slip through.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Sissi returned to Room 404. Luisa would not be leaving the infirmary several days, William had been made to go back to his room, and Sra. Yates had elected to stay with her through the night, but they had felt it best that Sissi and Sandrine return in order to give Luisa the opportunity to rest – as well as report back to the rest of the room.

They did not speak to each other during the journey, just as they hardly ever spoke at all, until just before they arrived at the door to Room 404. At that point, Sandrine turned her head to her, hesitated slightly, then said, "If you could contribute some of the explanation…"

"Mmm." Sissi nodded as much as was necessary while Sandrine opened the door into Room 404. Everyone was still awake, and sat in their camps, muttering excitedly to one another. Mr. Delmas, who had returned, sat by himself, yelling to both camps, and Luisa's soiled mattress had been removed.

They all looked up when Sandrine entered. "It's a boy," she said. "Salomón Gabriel Delarosa."

If there was any tension left in the room, it dissipated immediately – everyone clapped and cheered, even the Ishiyamas, who were far quieter about it. Mr. Delmas, Sissi noticed, was looking up at her in particular, with an expression she couldn't quite read from such a distance. There was a call for a story, and so for some time Sissi and Sandrine stayed in the middle and told one. Sandrine did most of the talking, but Sissi did contribute some, as she had been told to do, although she moved slower than Sandrine, and with a fair bit more stammering.

Just as Luisa had said, not much had actually happened for several hours. First, they had had to wait for a doctor to be called from a Dublin hospital, and then for him and his team to arrive and set up, and then, from there, for Luisa to be ready. It was during this time that Sissi had had her first real conversation with Luisa, by way of William and Sra. Yates. She had apologized for not talking to her earlier, and had thanked her again and again. Sissi had responded with cursory greetings, unsure of what to say, and when Luisa had asked her if she was still sad, she had declined to respond at all.

Once the baby crowned at about eleven o'clock, the delivery itself was smooth. Neither Sissi nor Sandrine had seen it, as a sheet had been put up across Luisa's middle, but she had heard it, that much was for sure. She heard Luisa's shouts of pain, everyone's continued commands for her to push, the doctor's muttered orders to his assistants, and even a nurse swearing loudly when Luisa lost control and punched her in the face. And then finally, without any warning, the newborn's forceful cry, which silenced everything else. Once he had been wrapped in a blanket and put into Luisa's arms, Sissi and Sandrine had decided to leave, and knew no more.

"When can we see the baby?" Lucille yelled. She and Magali had been hanging on to every word of the story.

"Not until he comes back to the room, dear," Sandrine said. "And now that I'm back, it's time for bed. That's what we said, wasn't it?"

The Mermond girls hemmed and hawed, but everyone else mumbled their assent, and so the preparations for bed began. Sissi didn't pay them any more mind – she returned to her camp, where her father was waiting for her on his mattress, with an expression she could now recognize as pride. "Good evening." He said. "That was good of you, you know, going along."

"Mhm." Sissi pulled her pajamas out of her bag, stepped into a corner, and began to change. This was the room's custom, and she had adopted it without thinking. Halfway through she remembered that she usually changed in the closet, but by then it was too late.

Normally such a short response might have irritated her father, but his response was calm. "You must be exhausted," he said. "I'll let you have your rest. Goodnight, Sissi."

"Goodnight," Sissi replied, shoving her shirt over her head. She gave her father a small smile, then climbed into her mattress. Though she closed her eyes, the twisting in her chest, the images in her head, the possibilities of the waking world kept her awake for hours. She mulled over William's words and implications, the world inside his head and the world around her. Even a year ago she would never have agreed to assist Luisa – but there was a new urge inside her, an urge entirely unknown, that had made the impossible possible.

"_The bear did defeat them, but do you think they expected it to?"_ Bravery, she thought to herself. That was what Ulrich had had, what even William had in small quantities, and what she so desperately wanted for herself. Bravery, not compassion, led her to Luisa. But where bravery would lead her next, she had not the faintest idea. This was the last thought she had before she slipped to sleep, so seamlessly that she hardly realized she had.

* * *

_There was a rustling in the corner of the room._

_It was dark, pitch black in fact, but she couldn't tell whether her eyes were open or not. The rustling continued, softly and consistently. She made no effort to wonder where it was from; in a pitch black world, there was no where or when._

"_I'm here, { }…yeah, I'm fine…no, no, I can't see anything…"_

_There was music, far away, perhaps on the other side of the black. Background noise, it could be. She was content. They fit together well. _

"_It's pitch black in here…no, I don't think it's { }. I can see my hands, and they're { }."_

_It was unlike any music that she had ever heard. It dipped in and out, in a tone that was new, but familiar. It teased and tickled her ears, turning them inside out. Harmony and sensibility were two things that had been lost to her lately, with all of the telling and hearing and living stories that couldn't possibly be true._

"_No, I can't tell where I am. I think I'm { }…there are a bunch of people sleeping in here. { }, I don't really get why I was { } here…wait…what…what is this…this isn't { }…"_

_There were more soft rustling sounds, and a small gasp. A new thread appeared in her perception - the music couldn't be understood because it wasn't music at all. For the first time, she felt her hands at her sides and her eyelids over the darkness._

" _{ }…something really weird is going on…"_

_The walls of Room 404 materialized before her eyes. She stared at them, dazed, before she remembered what she had opened her eyes for. She lifted her head, sat up, and turned around._

_Yumi was sitting upright on her mattress. Her eyes were alive and alert, and she was alternating her gaze between the door's glass pane and her right hand, which she was holding in front of her face. _

_She felt a wave of nausea bubbling and distorting her view, turning it upside down and inside out, but the core, the image that penetrated deepest in her mind, was clear. When she spoke, her mouth felt disconnected from the rest of her face."Yumi…?" _

_Yumi's eyes bulged, and she turned swiftly to where Sissi sat, her jaw dropping in transit. "Oh my god," she whispered. "It's Sissi!"_

"_Yumi!"_ Sissi shouted, but Yumi did not answer. Her eyes had grown still in their sockets, and her arms had fallen to her sides. As Sissi watched, she fell back on her mattress, still and silent, her face frozen in its usual expression.

* * *

That was cool, wasn't it? Oh, here's the translations for the Spanish:

"I've never seen them all so happy, especially Sissi! Seeing things like this makes me feel more hopeful, even if this place is supposed to be dreary. No offense meant, of course. Your school is wonderful but it's not exactly home."

"None taken. I'm appalled that they haven't moved you out of here yet. There's been no move towards the permanent housing they talked about in November."

"I can't complain. Nothing will come of it. I wish I could say this to them. I should have paid more attention in my classes."

"Well, that's why I'm here."

"Everyone, I'm fine! The baby might not come for hours! You don't have to make a fuss, none of you are medical professionals!"

"Do you want to go to the infirmary now, Luisa? They can help you more there!"

"Thank you, Sissi. You're doing us a great favor."

- Carth


	11. One Square Meter of Space

Hello everyone! Compared to other chapters of GITM I finished this relatively quick! I'm happy my pace is picking up. Enjoy another piece of the story!

**Disclaimer:** I don't know anything about the Irish Defense Forces. Any resemblences between the real organization and their portrayal in this story, beyond their name and general purpose, are entirely coincidental.

* * *

**Chapter 11  
One Square Meter of Space**

_February 1  
4:00 PM_

At four days old, Salomon Delarosa was hardly any different from any other baby of his age.

He had spent the majority of his life sleeping, and woke only when he was hungry, needed a change, or had simply slept so much that his body could not hold any more energy. He had been in such a state for five minutes thus far, and Magali, Celine, and Lucille, who had been repeatedly prevented by their parents and uncle from disturbing the baby while he slept, had flocked to Luisa as soon as they saw that he was not only awake, but quiet.

"He's so cuuuuuuute!" Magali cooed for the fifth time, tickling his feet. The newborn, still scrunched up and hairless, squirmed slightly and gave a small smile. "Isn't he cute, Hiroki?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Hiroki mumbled, looking down. Magali grinned and chucked his chin with her other hand.

"Look, look, he's holding my hand!" Lucille grinned as his fingers closed around her thumb, then laughed as he pulled it towards his toothless mouth.

"Goochie goochie goo," Celine said softly. She was holding Maria above his head, and he reached for the doll with his other hand.

"Está tan guapo que todos quieren verlo," Luisa said to herself. Without her large belly she looked strangely deflated, but the glow in her eyes when she looked at her son offset it entirely. Practically everyone in the room had been enchanted by the child – Akiko, though she did not leave her seat, looked wistfully from him to her own children, and Matthieu, who would likely have been a lot closer if not for his recent illness, still looked up and smiled in between glances at what looked like a photograph.

Only Sissi could not completely fixate herself on Salomon, no matter how much she might have preferred to. She was seated several feet from her mattress, right next to the door, looking furtively between her novel, the baby, and Yumi. She knew she didn't have to keep such a close watch, but she was too anxious to stop glancing back, couldn't stay confident that those arms and legs were really as still as they seemed. If it happened again, surely it wouldn't be something she'd miss…if it had even happened at all. But even if it had been a dream… if William could dream or pretend to dream of impossible things…

William. She wondered, impatiently, when she would be able to corner him long enough to tell him. After so many nights of almost unlimited talking and free time, William had become suddenly distant and unavailable. Since Salomon's birth he had only visited Room 404 for announcements, and each time he looked more exhausted than the last. Even yesterday, when she had yelled out the door that they needed to talk, he couldn't even turn back to reply – which, for a work-dodger like William, couldn't mean anything good.

The Mermond girls squealed; evidently Salomon had done something adorable. Matthieu said something she didn't bother to listen to, and Akiko gave a small laugh, but Yumi did nothing, nothing at all. The last time that Sissi had been certain of her doing anything, she had been pushing past her as she ran the other way… she had never given that much thought before, especially when she couldn't confirm anything she might possibly think…but now…

_Not that it means anything, since she failed_, she said to herself. Not a moment later, Magali stuck her head out from the crowd. "Sissi!" she said, "Don't you wanna see the baby?"

Sissi looked over at Luisa's camp, vaguely aware of how bemused she looked. "I, well, I've seen him a lot already…"

"Well, don't just sit there by yourself!" Magali thought for a second. "You can be Nice Sissi today, not Grumpy Sissi."

_Really?_ The names stuck a strange chord in Sissi's mind, and she twitched when she heard Matthieu chuckling, but she felt embarrassed to sit there a moment longer. Without another word, she got up and made her way to Luisa's mattress.

Magali and Lucille parted to make way for Sissi, leaving her a space right in front of Luisa and Salomon. Luisa smiled a greeting, and Salomon turned to look at her with wide eyes. Hesitantly, Sissi extended a hand, which he grabbed by the index finger with both of his. A warm blush crept across Sissi's cheeks, and the children giggled.

"¿Lo quieres cargar?" Luisa said, extending him slightly towards her.

"I…" Sissi's hands twitched violently, and her eyes slid away from Luisa's expectant face. "I don't… know… how."

"Support his head with one hand, and cup under him with the other," Matthieu offered, demonstrating the positions. "Don't worry, you'll do fine."

"I… okay." Still nervous, Sissi extended her hands, and Luisa placed Salomon in them. He fussed briefly, sending Sissi into even more of a sweat, but soon calmed down and closed his eyes. This did little to soothe her – she had never held a baby, or had any reason to care about holding one. And yet, here she was… I've come a long way, she thought. But where I am, I don't really know…

"You're a good baby holder," Lucille said. "You're like those baby swings, except you're a lady." She, Magali, and Hiroki were watching them intently, but, oddly, Celine was not. She had turned to look towards the window, her eyes wide. "What's that noise?" she said.

"There's no noise, stupid," Lucille said without turning her head – but as she spoke the rumbling grew louder and louder, and by the time she was done it was impossible to ignore. Salomon squirmed in Sissi's arms, and Matthieu leapt to his feet. "What the – it's a caravan!"

"A caravan?!" Akiko yelled, standing up for the first time in hours. Hiroki and the Mermond girls let the baby be with hurried goodbyes and rushed for the window, scrambling up to the ledge. Sissi felt the same urge, but suppressed it for Salomon's sake. Still, even from such a distance, she could see the dot that had come over the hill growing larger and larger as it came closer.

It was a different model than the one that had brought her to Avenshire – it was wider, longer, slower, and far, far louder. Instead of the French army coloration, it was pitch black, with no windows anywhere but in the front. Just as she was wondering what it might have been coming for, another came over the hill, and then another, and then another.

"There's dozens of them," Matthieu observed, turning back to the rest of the room. "What could they be here for? There's no more room!"

"We probably aren't supposed to ask." Akiko retreated back to her seat. "They'll tell us, I'm sure…"

"Just like they told us about the curfew." Matthieu's expression was stormy, as it often was as of late, and his nieces were giving him worried looks. If he saw them, he didn't show it – instead, he turned to look at Yumi. "Or anything else…"

"What are you trying to say?" Akiko said, her brows beginning to furrow, but before anything else could happen there was a knock on the door, followed by a muttered "Oh, right" from the outside and William's subsequent entry.

He looked, if possible, even worse than he had thus far. He had heavy bags under his eyes, and wore his uniform sweater on backwards. Once he was inside, he took a quick look at his clipboard and was about to open his mouth when Matthieu turned and interrupted him. "William! We were just talking about you. Here to tell us what those things are?" He pointed behind him to the caravans.

"Hello to you too," William said. He was smiling and trying to sound flip, but this attitude disappeared as soon as he was done with it. "Actually, yes, but…there's a bit more to it than that…"

"Is there a problem they're not telling us about?" Akiko offered. "You've been away an awful lot…"

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there!" William shuffled through his clipboard, looking frenetic. "Now, where was it…"

_It's now or never_, Sissi thought. "Hey, when you're done, we really need to-"

"Here it is!" William acknowledged Sissi with a chin lift, then pulled a sheet of paper out of his clipboard and held it very deliberately over his face. "I've been given this to read to everyone, and I, well, it'll answer all of your questions… or most… maybe."

He cleared his throat. "To the residents of the Avenshire Academy Private Refugee Shelter…" He gulped before he spoke again. "We the Sisters of the Sacred Heart have been honored to assist you these past few months. However, due to dwindling donations and resources across the country…"

"Are they kicking us out?" Matthieu sprang to his feet, rage coloring his face.

"They never said that!" Akiko shot back, but Sissi could hear the fear in her voice. "Go on, William."

William looked uneasily from Matthieu to Akiko, but went on despite the interruption. "We no longer have the ability to keep this shelter running past February 14th with the supplies we have. For this reason, the Irish Defense Forces have offered to take over the management of this facility and integrate it into their network of Dublin public shelters, and for the sake of the well-being of all of our residents we have accepted that offer."

William paused for breath, and no one made any comment in that time, but Akiko's jaw dropped open, and Luisa took her son back from Sissi and held him close to her heart. "The exchange of ownership will take place at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. A full list of policy changes which will be implemented to comply with the shelter policies of the Defense Forces will be posted in each hallway by five o'clock this evening. It has been an honor to serve you, and God grant you safety in these difficult times."

William lowered his paper, and looked from one shocked face to the next. He didn't look at Sissi, but if he had, Sissi didn't know what she might've done. She knew things weren't going to get any better, but to hear it spelled out that way…she felt more trapped than ever. "I'll leave a copy here," William said, "for the others to read-"

"That didn't say a word about the caravans," Matthieu interrupted. "They're going to cram more people in here, aren't they?"

"Well, yes, I heard so," William said, trying to keep his voice level. "DF policy is one person per square meter, and we're way under-"

"And how long do they think they'll keep us that way?" Akiko rose, grabbing her daughter's hand. "The public shelters were crowded, and filthy, and lawless, and…"

"¿Por qué chingados no aprendí frances?" Luisa said angrily.

William's eyes grew wide, and he bit his lip. "Look, I'm sorry. I can't do anything, I don't know anything-"

"Like hell you don't!" Matthieu got up and stormed over to where William stood. "You don't give a rat's piss, do you? You have a home to go back to. We may well be here for the rest of our lives!"

Before anyone could stop him, or he could stop himself, he raised his palm, bringing it dangerously close to William's face. Behind him, Magali and Lucille screamed, Celine began to cry, and Solomon woke and wailed as well. For a brief moment, Sissi almost wanted to see him slapped, but, like the click of a switch, her brain redirected her anger. She stood up, fists at her sides. "It's not his fault!" she shouted. "Leave him alone!"

Matthieu's hand froze, even though William had long avoided its path. "No, I…" He lowered his hand, then held it up over his face. "I was wrong… it's… it's not in your control at all…" He held his other hand up with the first, turned around, and stumbled back to his camp. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… Louis… William… I'm sorry…"

When he reached his camp, he attempted to approach his nieces, but they backed away, still crying. Apart from this, all were silent until William cleared his throat. "I still need to put these up downstairs, so…"

He turned and left the room, but Sissi, in her desperation both to talk to him and to get out of the room, ran after him and stuck her head out the door. "Hold up," she called after him. "Since when have you ever done anything on time?"

William stopped short and turned around. He didn't look annoyed – Sissi couldn't tell what he was supposed to look at all. "Sissi, I…tomorrow. We can definitely talk tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." Sissi sighed. "Your sweater-"

"I know." He turned and left. Sissi watched him reach the stairway door, which he pushed for some seconds before he stopped, swore, pulled it open, and disappeared behind it.

* * *

_February 2  
8:00 AM_

While they had still been able, Mr. Delmas had taken Sissi out into the hallway to read the policies that had been posted that evening. There were eighty-seven of them, most administrative and hardly consequential, but the far and few between that were had been bolded for emphasis.

**Policy 02: Residents of Avenshire Academy (hereafter referred to as Dublin Shelter 11) are not permitted 1000 meters or further from the Shelter (Avenshire main building) without two days' notice to the Shelter Captain. As of January 27, 2006, residents may only leave shelters in groups of at least four under DF guard.**

When Sissi saw the clock, she knew she'd woken up late. When it was 8:01, the first thought in her mind was that she'd missed her shower, but then it was 8:02, and she remembered that her shower times meant nothing. Rooms 422 and 424 had been disassembled overnight – living space for 60 people could no longer be wasted as such. Vaguely she remembered **Policy 24: Due to a scarcity of water, residents will be permitted five minute showers outside between 6 am and 11 pm every three days.** Briefly she was angry, horribly so, but then, to her own surprise, the strength to be so left her.

Her father was sitting still on his mattress. He was fully dressed, but made no move for his suitcase, or for anything else at all. "Did you sleep well?" he asked when she sat up.

"Mmm." Sissi rubbed the sleep out of her left eye. "Shouldn' you be at work?"

It was only when her father lowered his head and made a show of adjusting his tie that she remembered. "Not today," he said. "And not likely ever again. Avenshire suspended shuttle service this morning, and as of three minutes ago, Dublin Shelter 11 wiped it out completely." He paused briefly. "And with these restrictions, the money we have is practically useless…"

"Of course." Sissi pulled her knees up to her chest and looked around the room. All of the working adults were still there – Sandrine was bent over her sleeping children, while Mr. Mermond was speaking to his brother so softly that Sissi could not hear what they were saying. Takeo and his wife were conversing in low, curt Japanese while Hiroki looked on in fear. Yumi was awake, but she had not been taken from her bed. Only Luisa seemed to be in a sunny mood – she was breastfeeding Salomon, smiling all the while.

"You're not angry." It wasn't a question – Mr. Delmas's words were tinged with surprise.

"I…" Try as she might, Sissi couldn't feel anything at all. "I shouldn't be, and now I'm not."

"When we were safe and had hope, yes." Mr. Delmas looked down at his shoes and, after some consideration, began to unlace them.

"But you said-"

"Forget what I said," Mr. Delmas said. "Avenshire was supposed to be temporary overflow." Then he continued in a lower voice: "If the city is this crowded, things can't be getting any better…"

**Policy 07: Dublin Shelter 11, heretofore home to 689 refugees and 50 staff, will be required to accommodate one person per square meter of living space (classrooms, hallways, gymnasiums, dormitories, and outdoor tents, except where designated as paths through crowds). As such, living space will expand to 3,000 refugees. Current mattress supplies must hold 2 people or more. Overflow will be given bedrolls.**

At 8:15, the caravan line moved forward. Everyone in the room turned their heads to the door, but apart from a few grumbles and a shouted "OUCH!", none of the activity reached their doorstep. "Maybe we won't get anyone at all," Matthieu said once things were quiet, which earned him a retort from Sandrine – "Honestly, these people need this space! Will you watch yourself for once?"

The room was tense for some time after that, but after a moment or so with no activity a friendly conversation was struck up between the camps, simple chatter about the warm weather as if nothing else were going on. Sandrine and Akiko even exchanged a kind word, and Sissi found herself smiling at a joke of Mr. Mermond's, even if others, such as Matthieu and Takeo, remained withdrawn and sullen. But then there was another wave of noise in the hall, and they were all silent again. Lucille woke with a groan, mumbled something about new kids, and fell back to sleep.

In the midst of this noise, the door began to open. Mr. Mermond was the first to react – he stood up and began walking towards the opening. "Hello and welcome to Room 404! Need any help getting in?"

There was no answer from the family that stood in the doorway. There were four of them – a stooped, dark-skinned old man, a woman in her forties that looked to be his daughter, and a young girl and a younger boy. Sissi only got this far in assessing their appearances before she noticed their injuries – the boy had a burn mark under his right eye, the girl's arm was wrapped in bandages, and the woman's hair had been half-singed off. Only the grandfather appeared to be unharmed.

Something about them was more statue than human, Sissi couldn't help but think, and Mr. Mermond looked unnerved by them as well. "You can come in, you know!" he said.

The woman bit her lip, then turned to speak to her father in a deep, guttural language that Sissi did not recognize at first. Mr. Delmas, however, did. "That's German," he muttered, his eyes wide. "Why would anyone here be speaking _German_?" He stood and cleared his throat. [Do you speak English at all?]

The man and woman fixed them with stares as hollow as Yumi's, but they did not respond, and the children did not look in their direction at all. Eventually, the man turned away and pointed at the Mermonds' pile of mattresses. With only a minimum of sighs, the family woke Lucille and Celine and surrendered their mattresses to them, which they promptly grabbed, pushed into a corner, and sat upon, facing away from the rest.

There were two more bursts of noise without any impact on Room 404. The new family did not say a word during this time, not even to each other. After some time the girl began to cry softly; when the family made no move to comfort her, Lucille stepped towards her with her hands outstretched, but this only made her cry harder, so she backed away.

At around this time, the door opened again. Mr. Mermond did not stand up this time – he looked far too nervous to do so, as was everyone else after that experience. But the lone woman in the doorway looked nowhere near as cold – she strode right into the middle of the room, waving at everyone as she did so. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, with dark hair and eyes. "Hello?" she said in a heavy foreign accent. "Where is woman that speaks Spanish? ¿Quien habla español?"

"¡Yo, soy yo!" Luisa looked up at the woman, and if her expression was joyous before, it was nothing compared to what it became. "¿ROSALINA?"

Everyone's jaws dropped. The woman, whom Sissi assumed was Rosalina, turned to face Luisa, her eyes wide as her face. "¿Luisa? Dios mio, ¿eres tu?"

"¡Soy yo, soy yo!" Luisa's voice rose with every word. "Rosalina, primita, ¡por fin nos encontramos!" She took a moment to set Salomon down on her mattress, then ran to embrace the stranger. "No lo puedo creer. ¡Despues de tantos años!" Her sentence ended with a sob, and her head fell onto the woman's shoulder.

Everyone's jaws hung open at the sight, apart from the German family, who trembled at the noise and did not turn to look. "Who are you?" Sandrine asked courteously, and Mr. Delmas followed immediately after with, "Are you a relation of hers?"

"Her cousin, I am Rosalina," the woman said, patting Luisa on the back. "I have not seen Luisa for a very long time, but I know her anywhere…"

"That's amazing!" Sandrine said. "We're so glad you're here. Luisa's hardly had anyone to talk to."

"Yes, thank you." Rosalina looked over at the mattress where Solomon lay, fast asleep, then looked back and lifted her cousin's chin. . "¿Ese es tu hijo?"

Luisa grinned. "¡SI! Salomón es mi mayor orgullo. ¿Quieres cargarlo? Despues, ¡te presento a todas estas personas!"

Rosalina did not smile with her cousin – she merely looked sad. "Es un bebito hermoso, y muy sano," she said, "Pero lo trajiste a este mundo tan feo, tan sucio. Tal vez no te lo vaya a agradecer."

Sissi couldn't understand what Rosalina had said, but she saw Luisa's face fall, and heard the hard tone in her voice. "El mundo es tan bello como el," she said. "Ven, sientate. Platiquemos de otra cosa. De cualquier otra cosa."Somewhat subdued, she led Rosalina to her mattress, and they started up a more lighthearted sounding conversation.

Over the course of the morning, more people trickled in, and the room slowly began to fill with their chatter. The entire time this was occurring Sissi was not necessarily confined to her mattress, but **the outdoors will be forbidden to current residents on February 2, 2006 due to housing activity**, so said **Policy 30**, and the halls would hardly be any better. She felt little motivation to talk to the new residents, especially not with the translation effort it would require. Instead, she took turns alternately reading her novel, talking about the weather with her father, and tapping her foot against the ground, impatiently wishing that she'd been able to snag William, and, in the back of her mind, wondering where William was now that he was released from his duties.

Around nine, Room 404 saw its first DF officer – a tall, silent man in his mid-twenties with a rifle slung across his back. He was carrying a box full of sealed cereal containers, as well as Yumi's usual meal, and left it to be distributed.

Two minutes later a Spanish family of five came in, taking up the spare mattresses of the Delmases and Ishiyamas. They could not be more of a contrast to the silent Germans - the parents greeted everyone loudly and personally, though no one had any idea what they were saying, and their three children, a thirteen-year-old boy and two ten-year-old girls, ran wild while they were distracted. The girls ran right over and began rolling Yumi's wheelchair back and forth, while the boy sauntered towards Sissi, knelt by her, and said "Sabes que debes compartir tus colchones con nosotros, ¿verdad?" in a voice that cracked halfway through. Thankfully it was not long after this that his parents had reached Rosalina, Luisa, and Salomon, and the seven of them formed a circle and talked loudly and happily thereafter.

At nine-thirty, a middle-aged man in a loud check jacket frightened everyone with his British English until he managed to get across to Mr. Delmas that nothing of a supernaturally destructive nature had reached London, and that he had hopped into a caravan in order to escape the pandemonium on the city streets. Once this had been explained, he engaged Mr. Delmas in conversation until long after he and Sissi were bored with him, as his favorite topic was making fun of all of the other refugees around him, as well as bragging about himself. Sissi was glad when the next group came in, because it distracted him for a while.

For that matter, the three that came through the door at ten distracted everyone else as well. There were definitely two women, practically identical but for the fact that one had blue hair and one green, wearing clothing Sissi had not seen in ages – low-cut, midriff-bearing tops, short black shorts, and tall, rhinestone-studded heels. Between them was a person in a rather more tasteful mid-length skirt and blouse, though it was set off jarringly by his – her? – stubble of a beard. They talked loudly in French, which the Avenshire families were glad to hear until they figured out what they were talking about, at which point they covered the childrens' ears. It was soon after this that the newcomers noticed the Mermond girls and changed course immediately to dote over how "cute" they were, much to their parents' chagrin.

In all this commotion the man who came in behind them was hardly noticed. He was of an age with the Londoner, but while his suit was of much more refined origin than his, it was in ruin and tatters, and he wore a large skeleton of a gold ring that had once held a jewel. He spread his bedroll directly in front of the door, and gave the room hard, demeaning glances instead of trying to talk to them.

By ten-fifteen the room was mayhem. Everyone was attempting to talk over everyone else, people were moving to and fro and tripping over each other, Hiroki had his hands over his ears, children were chasing each other under and between peoples' legs, and Sissi could hardly hear herself think. Even when she screamed shrilly to herself, no one reacted because, with a thousand others yelling, no one could tell or care from whence it had come.

Her father's mouth was moving as well, and though he spoke so softly that she couldn't hear what he was saying, she could see him pointing to everyone, from the families to the loners, and counting them off on his hands. Thirteen…fourteen…fifteen. "Sixteen…" she saw him mouth. Then he rubbed his chin, and spoke somewhat louder. "There's one more coming…"

**Policy 87: The 50 non-refugee residents of Avenshire are to vacate the premises by 9 AM on February 2nd, 2006 so that refugees may be housed in their living spaces. Any that cannot evacuate until a later definite date will be held in Defense Force custody until they are able. If a resident is indefinitely unable to evacuate, he or she may place him or herself on the refugee register.**

The room was in such a state, and his presence so familiar, that no one paid him much mind when he entered. He had a suitcase in one hand and a bedroll in the other, and no longer wore his uniform – his oversized sweater and torn jeans almost perfectly matched hers. He gazed at the Ishiyama camp for some time before he moved towards the Delmases.

This got their attention – Sissi's jaw dropped, and her father's eyes widened in shock. "William? What are you still doing here?"

For such a situation, William looked determined to remain calm. "Well, Mr. Delmas, I'm moving in," he said. "It's a lot louder in here than usual, isn't it?"

Sissi couldn't respond, because she had not regained control of her mouth. Mr. Delmas looked more uncomfortable with each joke. "But shouldn't you have gone home?" he said. "You certainly don't belong here!"

"Oh yeah, I only told Sissi." William set his suitcase down and spread his bedroll next to their mattress. "Long story short, none of my family is on the Isles, nor will they be for some time, so…"

He sat on the bedroll, and folded his hands on his lap. Sissi could still see the bags under his eyes. "So," he said to her, "It's tomorrow. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Mr. Delmas raised an eyebrow, but Sissi paid him no mind. Her words came out as fast as she could push them. "Let's get out of here."

"You don't have to tell me twice," William said. He and Sissi stood up at the same time, and were just about to leave the room when Mr. Delmas cleared his throat behind them, grabbing their attention.

"And since when do you have secrets that I can't hear?" he said, his brows furrowed and his eyes fixed directly on William. William put his hands up defensively, and Sissi blushed beet red with panic, but surprised herself when a clever response came to her at just the right time. "Well, Daddy, this isn't exactly the first…"

Mr. Delmas pressed his hand to his temple, then sighed after some time. "You've got me there, Sissi." He stood up and stretched his arms over his head. "Go on, before I change my mind. It's not like there isn't anyone to keep an eye on you."

* * *

"She _WHAT_?!"

Sissi's face twisted horribly – she felt an anger more powerful than she'd felt in weeks. "Are you seriously not going to believe me?" she shouted. "You're the one that wants me to think you're having psycho Kadic dreams and now you're a skeptic?"

"No," William shouted back at her, "I'd love to believe you, but unless you're yelling your head off, I can't hear a word you're saying! In case you haven't noticed, this isn't the best place to talk!"

"Neither is anywhere else!" Sissi had dismissed her father's final comment as unimportant, but now that they had been around the school she saw that he was quite right. Gone were the isolated broom closets and quiet corners – now the closets were barred, every space had its human being living in it, and the skinny passageways were not for stopping and chatting. They were passing through the great cathedral of the front hall, hoping it would be spacious enough for even a bit of privacy, but from the number of bodies crowded round its columns, not to mention the acoustics, it seemed that was not to pass.

They had left the hall as they had been speaking, and William turned a corner, with Sissi following close behind. Sissi realized that they were headed towards the gymnasium, on a path more crowded than ever. "There's the auditorium over by the gym," William explained. "There might be some people in there, but the seats should be empty!"

They took a left at the gymnasium door, then another left into a side room. Sissi recognized it at once – it was where they had played the _Asterix _film back in November. It was completely empty, although all of the seats and partitioned square meters of the stage were labeled with numbers. "Are they seriously going to make people live in the _seats_?" she said.

"Not any time soon, I hope," William said. Now that they were out of the crowds, he looked far more relaxed. "So, where do you like to sit at the movies?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Sissi said, setting off down the third row from the top as she spoke. "You've got enough movies in your head."

"If you're just going to make fun of me, I don't see why I have to believe _you._" They stopped in the middle of the row and sat down next to each other. _This _is_ like a movie theater_, Sissi thought. She was suddenly hyperaware of William's leg touching hers, and scooted away slightly.

William didn't seem to notice. He leaned against the armrest and rested his chin in his hand. "So," he said. "What's the story this time?"

Sissi's hands twitched. Now that it actually came time to tell him, the experience seemed more real and more unsettling than ever. "Yumi's awake," she said. "Woke up. Just for a while."

William gasped audibly, and the sound echoed through the auditorium. She had never seen him react so strongly to anything else at all. "She _WHAT?!_"

"Didn't you say you were going to believe me?" Sissi snapped, but William went on without skipping a beat. "Look, are you sure? What did you see her do? Did she say anything to you? Did anyone else see it?"

"Hey, shut up for a second," Sissi said, though she could empathize with his excitement. "It was the middle of the night, I was half-asleep, I might've been dreaming or -"

"Doesn't matter," William said. "What do you remember? Even that might be important!"

"Alright, alright!" _Important to what? _she couldn't help but think, but she would ask that later. "She didn't really do much of anything… she was sitting up and looking at her hands and talking to herself or someone…her voice was all weird and low…she said it was pitch black and she didn't know where she was…and then she seemed…confused…"

_Important to what? _She thought again. _His dreams? _"Then I sat up, and called her name. She was really surprised to see me…she yelled my name, and then collapsed again. I've been watching her but she hasn't woken up since." She took a breath. "No one else saw it and I haven't told anyone."

William's face had fallen slightly, but he still looked more excited than Sissi had ever seen him. "You're sure?" he said. "You're really, really, sure."

"Of course I am, you dweeb!"

"Music to my ears!" William rested his chin in both his hands, looking oddly flushed. "You said this hasn't happened again, right? Are you su-"

"YES!"

William laughed, but Sissi tried not to look too irritated, else he would laugh harder. "Even still…who knows? Do you think she might be, you know, coming out of it?"

"That's just it, I don't know," Sissi said. "My father said she was brain-dead..."

"But you saw her up and talking," William said. "Who knows what she might tell us if we had the chance to talk back?"

Sissi shivered. Her heart was beating faster than before, warring between fear and excitement. "I don't think we'd have much to say to each other," she said softly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Sissi snapped. "Forget it. Do you really think she knows anything about…well…everything that's happened?"

William thought for a long time. "Well, you're more of an authority than I am. But if she ran back to the bear, then she probably didn't think she was going to be the one that came off worse. Just my opinion, y'know."

Sissi's voice dropped again. "I never thought of it that way. I just thought she was going back for Ulrich."

Sissi lifted her legs up onto her seat and pouted. William did so as well, considering his response, but Sissi spoke first, looking and feeling somewhat more confident than she had seconds ago. "What do you think you're – _we're _going to do if she does tell us anything?"

"Oh, so now you're the skeptic?" William chuckled a little, but stopped when he saw the look on Sissi's face. "Whatever we want."

"I hope you don't think she somehow has the secret to saving the world and destroying _them _and bringing everyone home or anything stupid like that." Sissi rolled her eyes.

"And what if she does?"

_What if she does indeed. _A vision entered Sissi's mind – the prom, the bear, Yumi pushing Sissi out of the way – except now it was Sissi pushing Yumi – or was she even pushing her at all? She tried not to think about it. "Then you'll be a hero," she said, trying to sound sardonic.

"And so will you." William narrowed his eyes at Sissi's sullen face. "You know what this place makes me wonder?"

Sissi raised an eyebrow, but her expression did not change. "How much longer we can stay here before people want to live where we're sitting?"

"Well, that too," William said. "But mostly how high you might jump if…"

Sissi felt a slight pressure across her shoulders, and looked to see that he'd slipped his arm around her. She blushed beet red with rage. "You…!" She yelped, whirled round, and pushed him backwards. "You little – don't _ever_ do that again!"

"Gah! You should've seen your face!" William laughed so hard he could hardly speak any more. "Oh god…that…yes, that…that was mean…"

He sat back in his chair, laughing himself out, while Sissi scowled at him, hyper-aware of the red still in her cheeks. "Y-yes, yes it was, and I can't say I'm surprised."

"Yeah, but at least you're not a sad sack anymore," William said, smiling. "C'mon, if I can get my hopes up, so can you."

_And why should he care what my hopes are? _Sissi tried her hardest to hate his grin. _He__ used to smile like that when he was being a jerk,_ she thought. "Well, whatever you think is going to happen, it won't unless we make sure we're there when she wakes up again. We can keep watch-" There was a sound of squeaking hinges from behind her. "Someone's coming in!"

They quieted immediately as the door opened wide. Two people came in, one after the other – first, a grown man in a hooded sweater, and then, with some hesitation, a little girl with ragged hair. In the backlight of the outside, Sissi couldn't see who they were at first, but they followed them with their eyes as they descended the rows of stadium seats. "Milly?" William whispered. "But who's the other guy?"

"_Him,_" Sissi breathed. She could see his scarred head bobbing as he headed for the stage. She scrambled out of her seat ducked behind the next row, pulling William down with her. She shushed him before he could protest, and the two of them peeked up over the rows.

The man had walked down to the stage before he turned around. He looked up at the top rows, sending Sissi into a fright, but then she remembered that, with his damaged eye, he likely could not see them. That eye turned instead on Milly, who was standing by one of the middle rows, stock-still. "Well hello there," the man said, smiling. "You don't like crowds either, do you, sweetheart?"

"That guy's got scars to spare," William whispered. "Do you know him?"

Sissi didn't answer, and neither did Milly, apart from a swift shake of her head. The man didn't laugh as he might have done at Sissi – his voice was remarkably soft. "That's quite alright. Are you afraid of me, too?"

Milly shook her head again. "I've heard of you," the man went on. "The girl that never talks. Maybe that's why you followed me. I don't even need to say anything, do I?" He laughed. "I'm doing fine, though. Everything's okay."

Milly nodded slowly. Sissi trembled against the back of the chair, looking from one to the other. "I can't do this, not right now," she mumbled to herself. "William, we're leaving."

She pulled him out of the row and towards the door, mumbling all the while. Though she could not see, with every step William looked more and more confused. "I don't get it," he said. "I still don't know who he is!"

"What's that?" the man yelled. Sissi froze solid, and didn't move until it was clear that he was talking to Milly, who did not appear to have spoken either. "You're…hold on, I'm reading your lips…you're sorry? This isn't your fault, sweetheart. And we're not going to be the ones to fix it, either. No, that's for your friend. The other one. The one right up top there."

"Go ahead, sweetheart," the man called up, causing them both to jump. "My scars can't kill you from that distance. You'll have to go closer for that."

William didn't have time to puzzle out what he'd meant, and Sissi didn't have time to care. She pushed the door open and took off down the hallway as fast as she could go.

* * *

_Februrary 3  
2:00 AM_

For all the nights that he'd stayed over in Room 404, William had gotten used to its sounds – Mr. Delmas's snores, the Mermond girls' quiet breathing, even Matthieu Mermond's sleep mumbling. He hadn't quite realized this, however, until sixteen more people had come to add their own – the Londoner's farts, the Germans' occasional cries, that and other things that made his Yumi watch more atmospheric.

He'd had the watch for an hour, and was due to keep it for two more – if he could actually get Sissi to wake. In the end, she'd never told him who that man was, nor would she speak on that subject, nor much to him for the rest of the day. He had a feeling that she'd told him all she'd wished to tell, and that if anything else disturbed her on the inside, it was not yet his business to know. At least, not without significant prodding.

But Sissi was not his concern at the moment – or, at least, he _shouldn't_ be concerned about her. Yumi was motionless as ever, apart from her breathing. Once or twice he thought he'd seen her twitch, but as it led to nothing he'd dismissed it as his imagination. It wasn't hard work, nor as harrowing as he'd thought. She was asleep, her stare hidden behind her eyes, and looked almost as if it could be believed that she could wake up and speak to him at any moment.

He wondered what it would have been like, to know her in reality. Sissi hadn't said much good about her, but William felt he had Sissi's number. If he hadn't found her amusing at first, he probably wouldn't have been able to stand her for very long either. But when you did, he thought, sometimes that bitterness would dissipate…he wondered what Yumi would think, if she'd been able to see that.

But then again, he didn't see Yumi around Sissi very often. Mostly Yumi and he walked alone, laughing in classes, hanging on benches, or getting drinks by the vending machines on the Quad. He seemed to spend a lot of time lingering on the shine in her hair, or the grin on her face, or the way her face lit up when they discovered another common interest… how sad it would be, if that were all gone forever…

So deep in his dreaming he was that he hardly noticed he'd fallen asleep. His breathing grew slow and even, and he added his sounds to the noises of Room 404's night.

* * *

Next chapter, things get crazy! There's a ton of Spanish in this chapter:

"He's so handsome that everyone wants to look at him!" "Would you like to hold him?" (You know what, I'm going to let you figure the third one out.)

"Who speaks Spanish?" "Me, that's me! ROSALINA?" "Luisa? It can't be you, it can't be!" "It's me, it's me! I can't believe it, after all these years!" "Is that your child?" "He is! Solomon is my greatest joy. Would you like to hold him? Then you can meet everyone else!" "He's a beautiful, healthy baby, but you've brought him into an ugly, sickly world. He may not thank you." "This world's as beautiful as he is. Come sit down, and we'll talk about something else, anything else."

"You know you're supposed to share your mattresses with us, right?"

Whoof! I hope that isn't too annoying to go back to!

- Carth


	12. The Flight, Part One

SO HEY GUESS WHO!

So Chapter 12 was supposed to be much, much, _much _longer than this, which was part of the reason it was taking so long. But it always seemed like a bit of a two-part chapter anyway, so I'm just going to split it in two. Part 1 is here, the second part should be done soon.

Happy almost second anniversary of Ghosts in the Machine, everyone!

* * *

**Chapter 12  
The Flight, Part One**

_February 15  
10:00 AM_

It happened faster than anyone could react. The fluorescent bulb sparked, then shattered, raining frosted shards down on the Londoner. The glass was dull and only bounced off his shoulder pads, but he still swore loudly and angrily when it hit, attracting Room 404's attention both to him and to the remaining bulbs. Fearing a more dangerous burst, the newcomers in the middle of the room evacuated to the sides, crushing Sissi between a wall, William, her father, and the man in the tattered suit. The bulbs went out a moment later, but did not burst as the first had.

If anyone in the room was relieved at this, it wasn't their biggest concern. There were shouts and yells from the hallway and adjoining rooms, and Room 404 did not hesitate to join them. The Avenshire residents reacted more patiently – "I'm sure they'll fix it soon," both Akiko Ishiyama and Mr. Delmas could be heard to say – but the newcomers were as a rule more violent. The Londoner banged on the door and yelled something Sissi couldn't understand, the German mother shivered and cried even harder than usual, and the French women whooped and hollered – "All right! Bring on the hunky repairmen!"

Sissi rolled her eyes and grumbled. The ragged man moved swiftly away, and her father apologized as he stood up, but when William didn't move, she elbowed him in the ribs. "You're in my space," she muttered.

"So's everyone else," he said, grinning and elbowing her back.

"Not anymore." Sissi pointed at the center of the room, which was slowly filling up again, though the Londoner was being given a wide berth thanks to the glass. "You have a whole room to wander around in."

"But I think I like it here," William said. "It's comfy, there's no glass under my butt, and I get to annoy you instead of them annoying me."

Sissi was about to retort, but then William did shift himself so they were no longer touching. So she merely grumbled again, and looked away from him. "Well…"

"Sissi!" Sandrine yelled suddenly, snapping her to attention towards the Mermond camp. Sandrine had plenty of room to move, but she was yelling across the way anyway. "Sissi, you're friends with William. Could you find him and-"

She stopped short and did a double take at William, whom she could now see was sitting right next to Sissi. He waved politely at Sandrine without a change of expression, but her eyes slid to the side. "That's right," she said, somewhat heavily. "I'm sorry."

"Not that he would've made any difference." Takeo gave Sandrine a stony look as he spoke. "As long as we're _alive _they won't care about the electricity. I bet they even have their own generators…"

"Oh, keep your shirt on, love," one of the scantily clad women shot his way, causing Takeo and Akiko to blush for wildly different reasons. "These things happen. It should be back any minute. And like you said, you'll live."

Everyone disposed to talk muttered in agreement. But any minute turned into many minutes, and after a great number of minutes, as well as far too many games of I Spy between Sissi and William and a number of disgruntled groans from the Mermond camp, Mr. Delmas glanced down at his watch. "It's been an hour," he announced.

The complaints, which had been stalling for some time, began afresh at this news – but they came from fewer people than before, primarily the foreigners. William made his requisite crack – "I didn't know not heating breakfast took so much energy" – but Sissi didn't entreat him with a response. The Mermonds were in her line of sight, so she looked in their direction. Magali, Celine, and Louise were trying to play with the German children with no more success than in the past two weeks, so they were at their camp, far from where their parents sat conversing in low tones at their uncle, who wasn't responding.

Sissi bit her lip as she looked at Matthieu – he hadn't looked well for a long time, but he'd been looking worse since Avenshire had become Dublin Shelter 11, though he hadn't had any more outbursts. He sat huddled under his blanket, his hair tousled, his eyelids heavy, and his gaze hard. "Falling apart at the seams" was the only thing she could decipher from what he said, and she couldn't hear what Sandrine had to say in return. He didn't reply to her directly – instead, he got up, blanket and all, and walked through the maze of people, muttering to himself as he went. "Probably a line a mile long to the can... it's not me, it's them…"

Just before he could reach the door, however, it swung open, hitting him square in the face and sending him careening into the Ishiyama camp. A uniformed soldier marched into the room, walking without noticing the glass crunching under his feet. He looked straight ahead at no one in particular, much like every other solider they'd seen in the past few weeks, pulled out several sheets of paper, held the first in front of his eyes, and cleared his throat.

"Official notice from shelter administration," he read haltingly. "There have been reports of power outages in this building-"

"Yeah, no kidding," Matthieu shot from under his blanket, but the soldier soldiered on. "-which we will address as soon as we have resolved our own power issues." He paused for groans, but none came. "We've been having difficulties communicating with our Dublin base throughout the night. As a result, no food has yet been delivered, but we are sure it is on its way. If it does not come soon, emergency rations will be distributed at an appointed time."

"What time?" Akiko said, holding Yumi's inert hand.

The officer hesitated, repeating Akiko's words to himself before responding. "I do not know."

He shuffled his paper to the bottom of the stack, and then began reading something in swifter, more confident English. "It's the same message," Mr. Delmas clarified aloud. The Londoner stood up and started yelling when that message was done, but the soldier's expression did not change; he simply repeated the message in Spanish, which was also greeted with more noise. At this point, Matthieu, whose expression had been slowly darkening, appeared to lose his patience; he slid past the DF soldier, knocking him to the side in the process, and disappeared into the hallway. The soldier turned angrily at first, but then, perhaps conscious of what the room would think of him, he turned slowly back, thanked them for their time, and disappeared into the hallway.

"Well, that hardly solved anything," Takeo said right as the door shut.

"No, but it tells us that something is being done," Mr. Delmas retorted. "If we can just keep our heads…"

There were a large number of answers to this, not quite angry, but still forceful enough that Sissi could not distinguish any of them. But this was hardly on the forefront of her mind – nothing about Avenshire truly was anymore, not even her own space. From where she sat, she could get a good look at Yumi – she was as she always was. "Are you sure she didn't move at all yet?" she said in an undertone, hoping William would hear.

"One hundred percent positive," he replied, leaning over.

"Not even a twitch?"

"Not even." He sounded just as disappointed as Sissi did. "Looks like we missed our chance weeks ago."

"Maybe if we wait a couple years, it'll happen again," Sissi said, folding her arms. "It shouldn't take too long, right? We've waited 'til now."

"Someone's losing hope." William tried to sound cheery, but there was no mistaking the tired tone in his voice. He put his hand to his chin, and looked up at the ceiling.

* * *

_1:00 PM_

"Okay, so, I spy with my little eye something…orange."

"It's that poster."

"Which that poster? You aren't pointing at one."

"They're all orange. That's a dumb thing to pick."

"They're not ALL orange." William rolled his eyes. "That one over there is green."

"And orange." Sissi elbowed William in the side, but would not turn to look at him. She had quite successfully not looked at him for the better part of the last two hours; one part of her was convinced that this was some sort of victory over him, while the other knew that the game was hardly a decent distraction from bigger problems.

No one had left the room in two hours, but not for want of trying. All of the groups were sequestered into themselves, having long grown tired of arguing over whether or not the DF soldier would ever come back; Sissi could not hear what they were saying to each other, but whatever it was it likely didn't differ much from group to group. Mr. Delmas was reading quietly on the mattress, sometimes glancing worriedly over at Sissi and William, but overall not paying them much mind.

"So this is how it ends, huh?" William said suddenly.

"It's not going to not be orange."

"That's not what I mean." Sissi felt William's arm moving against hers, and heard a straining noise as he held it above his head. "The dreams, the clues, all that stuff about busting out and saving the world…not doing us much good if we don't know where to go, is it?"

_Dreams?_ Sissi thought, confused, before memories of their midnight conversations came flooding back. It amazed her how, after so many days cramped in Room 404, she'd practically forgotten about that piece of the puzzle. "You sound disappointed," she said, determined not to be so herself.

"Only if I thought anything was going to happen." William laughed, and Sissi took an involuntary glance over at him. She couldn't help but notice the way he was tapping his fingers against his arm. "You, uh…wanna get back to I Spy?"

For all his pseudo-psychic dreaming, Sissi didn't want to think he could read her mind – and yet he knew just what she'd been thinking. She looked back at the room, back at the Ishiyama camp, which looked even more somber than the others. "Fine, sure. I spy with my –"

"Wait a minute." William held up a hand, and narrowed his eyes. "Are those…boots?"

"Boots?" Sissi said loudly, turning several heads. Said heads fell silent; the Mermond girls kept talking, but it was enough. She could hear an even, steady march of multiple sets of boots coming down the hall.

The room erupted with noise – there were a few cheers here and there, but mostly the talk that was already occurring just got louder and angrier. Mr. Delmas was the first to make his way to the door, and if anyone had actually been trying to enter Room 404 it would have been fortunate for them that he got there before Takeo, Matthieu, the Londoner, the man in the tattered suit, and finally the French women crowded behind him, attempting to take his spot. Sissi and William stood as well, but they did not join the throng – they merely stood back and watched.

Mr. Delmas opened the door and stepped out, bringing the crowd with him. [Hello?] Sissi could hear him say. [Excuse me, will the food be here soon?]

The marching stopped. Sissi could see two unfamiliar DF soldiers over her father's head, soldiers with heavy chins and unblinking stares, but, though they had stopped, they did not appear to say anything to her father before they marched onward.

[Excuse me, I asked you a question!] Mr. Delmas called after them, but if he said anything else it was drowned out by the murmurs of the crowd dissipating behind him. He was the last to leave, looking more perplexed than desperate. "They didn't say a word," he was murmuring to himself as he rejoined Sissi and William at the camp. "They certainly heard me, but they didn't say anything. Something's not right about this at all."

"Maybe they don't have anything and they just don't want to say it," Sissi offered, looking at her father.

"Maybe, maybe," Mr. Delmas said, picking up his book once more. "But certainly something will happen, soon. There's no reason to worry." He smiled, but it was weaker than usual. Sissi returned the smile and looked away swiftly; it was rarely very heartening to see how defeated he looked.

* * *

_3:00 PM_

Sissi didn't see what led up to the crash. She and William had gotten tired of I Spy not long after the soldier had gone by, and after a series of failed attempts at other games – cards, tic-tac-toe, a game William knew called "highest number" that Sissi punched him in the side for – there had been silence. Sissi was just shutting her eyes from boredom when she heard and ignored the thumps, but then the voices started again, and her father was grabbing her arm as William was moving away.

Matthieu was right in her line of sight when she opened her eyes. He was standing, his blanket in a heap at his feet, looking wide-eyed, thin, and haggard. His brother had his arms pinned against his chest, while Sandrine crouched some distance away, trying unsuccessfully to shield her daughters from the sight. Sissi wondered briefly what all the commotion was about until she saw the wall next to them – or rather the multiple holes that had been punched into it.

"Daddy, what happened?" Sissi whispered, but her father did not respond. Mr. Mermond said something inaudible, but Matthieu responded so loudly that Sissi was sure the whole floor could hear. "Crazy? You're calling ME crazy? I don't know about me, but YOU'RE the ones sitting here pretending that we're ever going to get any food."

"Matthieu, there's no reason to make a scene." Mr. Delmas's voice was uncomfortably loud, and he held Sissi tighter as he spoke. "They're not going to let us starve and we're not going to let ourselves starve."

"Then what are you doing, huh? If you had any sense left in your heads you'd join me and do something about it!" Matthieu threw his fists back, clunking his captor in the jaw and releasing himself. "If today's told me anything, it's that we're nothing but cattle to them. Nothing's ever going to get done for us unless we do it ourselves – I thought you were smarter than this!"

"But we're supposed to wait-" Celine began before her mother could put a hand over her mouth. Matthieu swung his head to look at his nieces, and while he looked wide eyed and almost delirious at first, something about seeing them – Sissi couldn't see their faces – softened his own.

"Celine, sweetie, don't ever say that again," he said, almost too calmly. Celine whimpered softly. "Don't ever say what they _want_ you to think. Here's what's really going to happen. If we stay here, if we keep playing their games, sooner or later we're going to die. We're going to die long before _they_ ever get us, all because we've trusted ourselves to a different monster." Some murmurs of assent rose in the crowd, and Sissi could feel her own heart beating faster, though she didn't know quite what to think. "It's not like there's no food here, we're in a city! And we've suffered, haven't we? We've earned our respite!"

"Like hell we have!" the French women yelled.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He looked to all the parents in turn. "Sandrine, Alec, Jean-Pierre, Luisa, Diego, Pilar, Frieda… don't your children deserve what you can _really_ give them? Here's the plan, when they come by again-"

"And what about my children?" Matthieu stopped at these words, and turned slowly to face Takeo, who had stood to face him. He was in front of his family; Akiko gripped her daughter's hand, while Hiroki hid behind his mother. "You forgot myself and Akiko. What about us?"

Matthieu grinned at Takeo in a way that sent shivers up Sissi's spine. "Oh, I didn't forget." He stepped down from the mattress and walked closer to the Ishiyama camp. "I just didn't get there yet." His grin widened. "Have I ever told you about Louis, Mr. Ishiyama?"

Mr. Delmas stood, leaving Sissi on the ground. "Matthieu, this has gone far enough-"

"Do you know why he isn't here, Mr. Ishiyama?" The corners of Matthieu's mouth twitched. "Because one of those soldiers made the entirely arbitrary decision that he couldn't take five seconds to help a heavily injured man. That somehow, that soldier could take it into his own hands who deserved to live and who deserved to die."

"I don't know why you're saying this to me-"

"Louis is dead." Matthieu trembled. "Everyone's told me over and over again, 'oh, don't say that, Matt, what will Louis think?' But he's dead. There was no room for him on the caravan. He's not in the registry. He's _dead. _They _killed _him." He breathed heavily, in and out. "So what I want to know is…that _thing _you keep calling your daughter, why would they say that she's more alive than Louis was? Why wasn't the love of my life as important as_ that_?"

The Ishiyamas' faces went white. Akiko's began to tremble, but Takeo would do no such thing. "My daughter has nothing to do with you."

"Your 'daughter' is eating the food he should've eaten!" Matthieu shuddered, tears coming out of his eyes. "You can't see, can you? She's a-mmmmfff!"

Matthieu was cut off mid-sentence; Mr. Mermond had grabbed him from behind, and though he winced in pain as Matthieu bit down on his hand, he still managed to hold on to him. "I'm sorry," he said, looking at Takeo and matching the pallor on his face. "My brother's under a lot of stress, and-"

_"Where is Yumi Ishiyama?"_

Mr. Mermond stopped short, his mouth still open, and the room fell still after him. The shout seemed to be coming from some distance away, but it was still quite loud and quite forceful, with very little emotion behind its words. _"We are looking for Yumi Ishiyama,"_ it went on_. "We will deliver food and restore power if Yumi Ishiyama can be found. Please assist us in locating Yumi Ishiyama."_

The silence did not last long afterwards. A large number of people turned and began muttering to each other – "Yumi? Why would they want Yumi?" – [Who the hell's Yumi?] – "Es una exigencia simple, pero…" – but others, like the German family, simply turned to face the Ishiyama camp, looking from Matthieu to Yumi with hollow expressions. Takeo and Akiko, if possible, had gone even whiter; Takeo had taken several steps back, almost tripping over his daughter, while Akiko was now gripping both of Yumi's hands, repeating "No, no…" over and over.

"They'd better not do what I think they're going to do," William said very quickly, looking just a bit unnerved.

"I don't understand," Sissi said in response. "Not that, but…" There was no room to wonder why what was happening was happening. She could see Matthieu's smile escaping from the sides of his brother's hand, see the frightened looks on the Ishiyamas' faces, see Yumi stock-still, unaware – or was she? – did it matter?

"How much more perfect can this get?" he said, wrestling his brother away. "Looks like even they can change their minds. Give them the corpse, or I'll yell that it's here. We want what we deserve and she's keeping it from us."

_"Where is Yumi Ishiyama?"_ The voice was even louder this time – Sissi had a feeling it was coming closer. Takeo was at a loss for words – Sissi couldn't see any tears in his eyes, but his face was twisting as though he were about to cry. "No," he repeated like hs wife. "No, no…why…?"

"Selfish," Matthieu spat, and there were some murmurs of assent. "Selfish, delusional-"

It was more than Sissi could bear. She stood up, pushing William to the side. "She isn't dead," she said.

_"We are looking for Yumi Ishiyama. We will deliver food and restore power if Yumi Ishiyama can be found. Please assist us in locating Yumi Ishiyama."_

Matthieu and the Ishiyamas looked wide-eyed in her direction. "Excuse me?" Matthieu said.

"She isn't dead," she repeated. "She…"

_"Where is Yumi Ishiyama?"_

She hesitated for a moment, not knowing exactly how much to say. "She…" She sat back down, still facing straight ahead. "She just isn't."

_"We are looking for Yumi Ishiyama. We will deliver food and restore power if Yumi Ishiyama can be found."_

_"_I thought you were smarter than that. Maybe." Matthieu looked back at Takeo. "No matter. If they want Yumi Ishiyama, they'll find her soon enough."

The words were hardly out of Matthieu's mouth when the voice outside stopped mid-word, on "_Please ass-"_. In an instant there was a loud thundering noise cut with groans and screams from the hallway; time seemed to slow down as it came closer and closer; the Londoner and the tattered man backed away from the door; Akiko threw herself over Yumi, repeating "Don't answer the door, don't answer the door, don't answer the door," but it was too late - the door burst open of its own accord.

More soldiers than Sissi had seen in all her days at Dublin Shelter 11 came pouring into the room – she counted ten coming in, and countless others in the hall. They pushed camps aside as they moved, sending Luisa, Salomon, and the Spanish family scrambling for the abandoned Mermond camp.

"What on earth is going on?" Sissi heard her father say, but she had no answer for him. Five of them made a circular perimeter around the refugees, standing with their backs facing them and their rifles pointing upward. To Sissi, they seemed almost twice as tall as herself. Matthieu and Mr. Mermond had been pushed to the side; Matthieu attempted to say something, but a soldier pointed his gun in warning, and neither he nor anyone else said another word, though Mr. Delmas covered his mouth with both his hands.

Though the gaps in their perimeter she could see seven more make a second circle around the Ishiyama camp. They didn't ask for Yumi here – they cocked their guns simultaneously, pointing four at her head, two at her chest, and one at Akiko, who was still lying across Yumi's lap. "Stand aside," a soldier said in a dull monotone.

"No," Akiko said. "No, no, no, this is a mistake, you're making a mistake. It's me, you're wrong, it's not her, it's me, _I'm_ Yumi Ishiyama, you've got it wrong, she's just a child, she's never done anything wrong–"

_"Stand aside," _three more soldiers repeated, and a fourth let go of his gun to pry her off of Yumi's body. In a more distant situation Sissi might've found it odd that they did that instead of just shooting her, but all in all everything was just too odd for her to question it. Even if Matthieu was right about Yumi using up resources…

William hit her in the side with his elbow, but she wrote it off as his adjusting his position. Out of curiosity she looked up at the nearest soldier, who was standing stock-still just to her right. He hardly seemed to be breathing, or even betraying any sign of emotion in his face or in his eyes –

His eyes. Sissi's own widened even more than before. His eyes…his iris…it was changing, flickering, and resolving itself into…

"William," she whispered as quietly as she could.

William elbowed her again, and she turned to look. He already looked particularly strained, but that was understandable. "Their eyes," she said.

"What?" He was speaking even more quietly than she was. "Eyes? What are you talking about?"

"Their eyes." Sissi's mouth trembled. "L-look at their eyes…it's…"

"Forget the eyes," William said. "Look at Yumi!"

"Forget the-! William, it's the-"

"_Look at Yumi!_" he urged again.

So Sissi looked. She wasn't sure what she was looking at at first – she could hardly see Yumi through the perimeters – but then she thought she saw a twitch, then a turn of the head, and then, so suddenly that time seemed to slow down as it was happening, she saw a pair of legs fly up, knocking the soldier that had aimed the gun at Akiko square in the jaw and off his feet.

* * *

I should have the next part up in a week or so. Yes really. :)

- Carth


	13. The Flight, Part Two

And now here's Part 2 of that chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Things happen in it, as always.

* * *

**Chapter 13  
The Flight, Part Two**

The soldiers all broke perimeter at once and ran for the Ishiyamas, guns raised and ready to fire. The residents of Room 404 didn't react in any predictable way – some ran to the edges, some looked frantically for something to pick up and defend themselves with, while others lay frozen, watching the soldiers, the tips of their rifles, or the girl who was vegetate just moments earlier moving like a whirlwind, disabling them all in record time.

Sissi was one of them. But there wasn't much to focus on, not with the way she was _moving_. Her hair flew in her face as she kicked another soldier, sending his gun flying and firing harmlessly at the floor, and when it flew away her face flew up as she grabbed two more, knocking their heads together. Two more soldiers ran and tripped over them, flailing as they crashed to the floor. Sissi could swear she saw their bodies…sparking as they fell to the floor, but before she could make any sense of it, Yumi was up and flying again, grabbing a soldier's rifle and smacking him in the gut with it.

At this time the defensive ones, who amounted only to Diego and Mr. Mermond, finally got their hands on two of the officers' rifles. They picked them up with the look as if to shoot them, looked down, changed their minds, and began hitting the soldiers with the rifles as Yumi was doing. They managed to take out three before getting knocked out themselves, and not long after a pile of unconscious, sparking soldiers lay in the middle of Room 404, not a one appearing to be dead.

No one made a move for Yumi or the pile. Those that were silent remained so. All eyes were on the Ishiyamas. Akiko was still slumped by Yumi's wheelchair, staring right at her daughter with terrified eyes. Takeo's hands were opening and closing, as if they wanted to grab something but didn't have the strength to move. Hiroki was looking back and forth from his sister to the pile of soldiers, and was the only one in the room smiling – apart from Luisa, but no one was looking at her.

Yumi was the only one who didn't appear bothered by her own actions. She was looking down at the soldiers with a serene expression, casually holding her chin. "They'll be back up soon," she said softly. "But I probably have long enough…"

She looked slowly around the room, her face changing slowly to confusion. She skipped directly over the faces of those she did not know, finally coming to rest on the Delmas camp, where she matched their expressions of shock. It was hard to tell who looked more distressed by the attention – William, whose jaw lay open, Mr. Delmas, who looked to be on the verge of tears, or –

"It really is Sissi!" Yumi said, eyes wide. "Aaaand, William. Well, okay. That makes about as much sense as everything else." She blinked. "Sissi, where are we?"

Sissi couldn't put words to her disbelief. She didn't look quite like she had in October – she was far thinner, her hair fell to her shoulders now, and she wore only a dingy grey T-shirt and shorts. She also felt taller somehow, taller than Sissi and everyone else in the room – but her eyes were just the same as they were before. Sissi didn't know how to feel as she looked into them, and couldn't even say what sort of expression she was giving her – but she saw Yumi's change from confusion to…she still couldn't put words to it. It was something…searching. Almost a deeper level of confusion.

"Uh, we're in Ireland," William answered hurriedly for her. He was breathing heavily, and his smile seemed entirely too wide.

Yumi turned immediately from Sissi. "_Ireland_? Why are we in Ireland?" She threw her head back, her eyes widening when she saw her family. "Mom, why are we in Ireland?"

Akiko did not look to be in any state to answer her daughter's question. She did appear to be trying, but the only sound coming out of her rapidly moving mouth was a stammering, hoarse scream. Takeo's mouth was a thin line. Hiroki breathed deeply, as if he were about to answer, but never said anything.

"Well…I don't think I can wait for that." Yumi gave them a nervous smile, then turned away. "Everyone listen," she said, putting a hand on her hip. "This place isn't safe anymore. We have to evacuate and get as far away as possible. Grab their weapons and don't ask questions."

When no one moved, she groaned in frustration, and leaned over to pick up the assault rifle she'd dropped in the fray. "Maybe I'm not being urgent enough? We're going to _die_ if we stay here. Take the weapons, but-"

"And why should we take orders from you?" one of the French women yelled. "You've been a stiff for months, how do you know what's going on?"

Yumi's face blanched as the floodgates opened. Question after question flew from multiple mouths in multiple languages, the Mermond girls cowered in fear, and Matthieu stood in a corner with his hands over his face, silent and still. Mr. Delmas still looked very shaken, but Sissi could hear him muttering to himself, not loud enough to be heard – "Her muscles should be atrophied…she shouldn't be able to move." William was shouting Yumi's name over and over, but it could not be heard.

"I said no questions!" Yumi finally yelled. "When we get out I'll explain, which we will if-"

"Yumi."

The room quieted instantly – making it much easier to hear coming footsteps from outside, but no one was listening. Takeo had finally approached Yumi, and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Yumi," he repeated.

Yumi turned to face her father. Her face softened for a moment. "Dad…?"

"Yumi…" Takeo's face contorted in a painful matter. "Why did you run back into the gym?"

Yumi blinked, then looked from him to her mother, whose sobs were growing louder. Her face became hard. "Dad, I don't know-" She paused. "I don't have time right now. We'll talk later, okay?"

She pulled herself out of her father's grip and turned back to the crowd. Several of them had followed her call and picked up weapons, while others still stood against the walls. "Okay, good, you listened. Now, on the count of three, we're going to rush that door-"

"But what about our belongings?" Sandrine yelled.

"You can get them later, anyway, do _not_ fire those weapons unless it's absolutely necessary. If you can knock them out with blunt force, do it. Trust me."

She held up one finger, then put it to her chin. She did a double take at Mr. Delmas, then locked eyes with Sissi. "Except you. You stay there. You and William. Mr. Delmas, you can go."

"Absolutely not." Sissi practically jumped at hearing her father speak so strongly.

"Fine, fine, we've lost enough time-" She swung around again at the door, at the same time that there was a single loud knock on it. "_THREE!"_

"NO!" several people yelled, but it was too late. Yumi reached for the door, but before she could reach the handle, it flew open. Row after row after row of DF soldiers filled the hallway and filed into the room, marching in file. The same symbol flickered in each of their eyes; Sissi saw it multiple times as it flew past.

One vine, three branches, concentric circles.

Sissi couldn't help herself – she screamed. The Mermond girls followed suit, and several more people joined in before Yumi, calm and collected as ever, kicked up into the closest soldier's face, knocking him to the floor. This display appeared to hearten some people; the Ishiyamas followed immediately, and several of the adults were slowly following suit.

William, Sissi, and Mr. Delmas sat as still as they'd been ordered. William's fingers were drumming against the floor – Sissi could feel his impatience – but he never once moved. Mr. Delmas had placed himself in front of them, and had reached back to hold Sissi's hand. He had a vicegrip on it, and wouldn't let it go for anything.

Eventually, the fighters managed to clear a path for those bringing up the rear. The last to leave was Sandrine, pushing Yumi's wheelchair full of her still-screaming daughters in one hand and pulling the still-frozen Matthieu by the other. As the crowd was exiting, Yumi burst out, returning to the Delmas camp.

Her legs looked bruised, and there was a cut across the top of her head, but she did not appear to notice. Ignoring the Delmases, she turned to William. "Is there a fire alarm nearby?"

"What's going on?" William interrupted, pushing himself into her face. "Where are you taking everyone? Why are they attacking us? How do you know who I am?"

"Yumi, whatever you think you're doing, it's out of your control," Mr. Delmas said, talking over William. "This is extremely dangerous – why have you left your parents to this – you can't- _they_ -"

_"Is there a fire alarm nearby?"_ Yumi repeated, agitated.

Mr. Delmas grunted, but he was silent. "Well, yeah, but…the power's out," William said, his bravado gone.

"I wouldn't count on that." She pointed at his chest. "You're going to lead me there in just a second. Sissi-"

Yumi faced her, but didn't come quite as close as she had to William. "Where are Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita? Are they in here? Is there any way we can find them or call them?"

Sissi could hardly believe she was hearing. She tried to look at Yumi, but her face blurred and distorted, replacing itself with flashes of the gym – the bear – Yumi embracing Ulrich as the bear fell – Yumi pushing Sissi away – Yumi in the wheelchair – Yumi making fun of her – Yumi touching Ulrich's hand – Yumi - all the things Yumi could say, that Sissi needed to say, and this-

"Well, I've never heard the name Aelita," her father started for her. "But…and I'm sorry to have to tell you-"

"They're dead, Yumi," Sissi found herself spitting. She hadn't felt so angry for a long time. "They died months ago, and so did you."

Sissi had expected shock, even horror – and the look on Yumi's face was something like it, but milder, almost unsurprised. "Dead…? That…okay. That makes things more difficult. And of course you wouldn't have heard of Aelita, we didn't…okay." She looked uncertainly at Sissi for a few moments, then turned back to William. "William and I will meet you outside. Get…get somewhere."

"There's the tree," William offered, "But Sissi can definitely-"

"I think Sissi's better off staying with her father." Yumi stood back up. "We'll meet you at the tree."

She turned and ran immediately. William looked back at Sissi for a while, but when Mr. Delmas grabbed Sissi's arm, he shrugged and ran after Yumi before he could lose sight of her.

Sissi and her father were alone in the room. Sissi was trembling all over, clutching her father's hand as if it would lead her out of her own mind. Mr. Delmas himself was mopping his brow with his free hand, his eyes distant. "I think," he said, "I think Yumi might have known about these forces long before we did, Sissi."

Sissi didn't respond. The flashbacks were still coming; it was her first day Avenshire, when everything was safe but still she'd run away, and screamed, and he'd had to catch her and hold her back. He began to stand up, then, as an afterthought, grabbed exactly one bag. "But that's not something we have any power against," he said, and Sissi was struck by how defeated – how _different _– he sounded. "Come on. We don't know what's waiting for us out there and if we don't stay with the group we may find out."

That was all she needed to hear. One minute she was imagining herself running, and the next she really was running as fast as she could to the door, and no force on earth, not even her father, could hold her back.

* * *

_3:45 PM_

Sissi was only able to remember flashes of what she'd seen between the door and the elevator. There was the hallway full of soldiers, Room 404 fighting, the eyes, Room 404 cowering, the Spanish father knocking out two soldiers, people from other rooms peeking their heads out to see what was going on, the people in the hallway underfoot running or joining in, the eyes, the eyes, gunfire ringing out but no screams following it, and then, suddenly, the alarm – so William and Yumi had reached it after all.

The other rooms walked out calmly at first, in single file, and then they realized what was happening and ran as fast as they could for the exits. This created a traffic jam in the hallway, and Sissi saw several soldiers felled by the sheer force of the crowd alone. She found herself ferried along as well, of course – they carried her towards the stairwell, but, spying the elevator nearby, oddly open and empty, Sissi had managed to worm her way against the tide and leap in. She thought she saw her father's face for a moment in the crowd just before the doors closed, but she wasn't sure.

From there, two problems presented themselves. When Sissi went to press the button for the first floor, the elevator would not move – the fire alarm had disabled that feature, to be sure – and while the doors had closed, the "open door" button was also not functioning. Second, there was already someone there, as she realized when she heard a shriek from behind her, followed by a gleeful, high-pitched "Sissi!"

She knew the voice all too well, and turned without caution to face Magali, Lucille, and Celine. They were sitting atop Yumi's wheelchair, which was taking up most of the floorspace. Magali was sitting on the edge of the chair, looking surprised. "How did you get here?" she said. "I thought she said you had to stay!"

"Oh, I, uh…" Sissi was at a loss for words. Magali looked concerned; Lucille, on the other hand, was huddled in the back of the chair with her hands over her ears, sobbing quietly. Celine was similarly unresponsive, but she wasn't crying; she merely bounced Maria back and forth on her lap, not saying a word. "I…didn't." She bit her lip. "Shouldn't you be with Sandri – your mom?"

"She put us in here. Like, five seconds before you jumped in." Magali looked back at her sisters, then spoke softly. "Are those people like the monsters back home?"

For a moment Sissi thought she was about to cry herself. She slumped against the wall, bringing herself to Magali's level. "I don't know. I guess. Things are happening too fast."

"I hope not." Magali pulled her legs up to her chest. "But…Yumi's…she's going to stop them, right? That's what she was doing."

"Maybe." Sissi's fingers were tingling, and she felt anger building in her throat. However, just before she could berate herself for her actions, a lightbulb flickered in her brain. "We're going to get to the first floor."

"Eh?" Magali said, but Sissi didn't look back at her – instead, she looked down at a small keyhole on the elevator, marked FIRE USE.

She combed her fingers through her hair; finding nothing, her hands shook even harder with frustration. "Do any of you have a hairpin?"

"Why?" There was a soft thump as Magali stepped down from the chair and crowded next to Sissi.

"If I can pick this lock, we can operate the elevator." Sissi grinned, spooking Magali slightly. "Doesn't Celine have one?"

Magali didn't move. "Isn't picking a lock with a hairpin really hard?"

"Sweetie, you're talking to a master locksmith." She hadn't felt so confident in months, not on a personal level. "Well, doesn't she?"

"Yes, but…" Slowly, Magali smiled as well. She turned to the chair. "Celine? Sissi needs your hairpin. We're gonna get out of here!"

"Why?" Celine said, but removed a pin from the back of her head without needing an answer and handed it to her sister. "Are we gonna see mom?"

"I don't wanna go back outside," Lucille said, shuddering.

"Why not?" Sissi said. "No matter what we find out there, it's no match for us. None. Hah!"

She'd feared for a moment that the lock would be more complicated than the ones Kadic had used, but in the end it was almost easier than it had been breaking into Ulrich's room. There was a clicking noise, several whirs, and an additional alarm. Sissi whooped and triumphantly pressed the first floor button.

The elevator groaned, then moved down slowly. Magali cheered with Sissi, and Celine smiled, but Lucille just shook more violently. A muffled, rhythmic noise grew louder and louder as they descended, but as it did Sissi found her fear melting away. She'd done something. Against all odds, she'd done something _useful_…

The doors slid open, showing them the first floor hallway. Sissi had expected mayhem, but the hallway was at a standstill – the most harrowing one she'd ever seen. Soldiers were lined up and down the hallway, keeping children and teenagers against the opposite wall with their rifles. All of them were chanting the same phrase over and over – the source of the sound they'd heard in the elevator. _"Where is Yumi Ishiyama? Where is Yumi Ishiyama?"_

"We're going to die," Magali squeaked, but Sissi didn't look back. None of the soldiers were paying them any mind, but several of the children had seen them. Some were expressionless – inside, they had already given up – but one, the one right in front of her…

The last thing she'd expected Milly to do was smile, especially at her. It was small and passionless, but it was enough.

"Stay in the elevator," Sissi said, then dashed out. Her Pencak Silat instructor had always emphasized that her power was to be used in self-defense, but he'd also taught her to kick people in the head – and the cueball pointing his rifle at Milly was a perfect target. He wasn't knocked out, but she did knock him to the floor, and it was enough of an opening to kick him again.

The soldiers' guns were only on her for a moment. With a yell a kid down the hall punched a soldier in the gut; ten more followed suit, then a hundred. Not everyone was succeeding, not even Sissi, whom a second later was caught in a headlock by a guy twice the size of the last, but those that were were making a dent – a person Sissi never saw knocked out her attacker with the butt of the rifle he'd dropped.

The chanting was fainting as more soldiers went down. Once again there was gunfire, but who fired and whom it hit Sissi would never know. She started in against two more officers, punching and kicking them wherever she could. Out of the corner of her eye she glimpsed Milly. She was still huddled against the wall, along with many of the younger children; she was following her every move with her eyes, still smiling that small smile. Sissi wondered what she was thinking about – and in that moment of weakness the last soldier standing found an opening.

_Crack. _The soldier hit her in the head with his fist, and not long after he himself went flying into the wall. The floor spun under her as she hit it; she stumbled around on her hands and knees for a moment before collapsing.

"Still alive, sweetheart?"

The fog cleared slightly, and she turned as carefully as she could. He was standing nearby, looking like a giant from her vantage point. He had his hands on the handlebars of the wheelchair, which was still on top of the unconscious guard; the Mermond girls were milling about, and even Lucille was giggling, yelling "WHAM!", and wiping tears from her eyes.

"You," Sissi said, though every word was painful. "What are you doing?"

"Helping you despite my terrifying appearance." Though he was talking to her, he did not take his one good eye off the Mermond girls. "Unless lavender is in vogue nowadays I believe I saw their mother not too long ago. I think I can-"

"You're not taking them anywhere."

The man's face fell slightly. Looking back and forth between the girls, he bit his lip. "Well, let's look at this logically. You're an idiot. If I take them you'll be getting in my way trying to get them back." The man released the handlebars of the wheelchair. "This isn't the end, sweetheart."

He turned tail on them and walked back in the opposite direction, towards the gym. Magali waved at him. "Bye, sir!" she yelled. "Thanks for saving Sissi!"

The man turned back. "You're very welcome, Mag. Take care of your sisters. And don't worry, Milly. I didn't mean what I said about her being an idiot."

The man turned a corner, disappearing, but Sissi didn't bother to watch – she had already turned to look at Milly. The other children had long cleared away, but she was still there, still smiling and holding her headless bear. Sissi didn't – couldn't – smile back, and felt more and more distressed the more she looked at her, but she couldn't let the past overtake her. "We have to get to the front," she said. "Everyone should…should be there. Milly, get in the wheelchair."

Milly entered the chair without complaint, and Celine and Lucille joined her. Magali grabbed one handle and Sissi the other, and together they headed for the front hall. Lucille chatted amicably with Milly as they went, not really caring that she wasn't answering, and kept stealing Sissi admiring glances.

They reached the hall fairly quickly, but stopped before entering it. They found it in exactly as much mayhem as they'd predicted. There were no soldiers in sight, but the hall was swarming with people, all attempting to exit the one small door at the far end.

"Well, this is…" Sissi looked down at her charges. "Maybe we should hang back until…"

"SISSI!"

Two powerful hands grabbed her shoulders and pulled her around the corner; she was in half a mind to punch her captor in the face, but the half-second's glimpse she got of that face before her father buried her face in his chest stopped her cold.

She couldn't see anything, but she could hear the footsteps and screams around her, as well as her father's voice. "I've got you, I got you," he said. "I've…I've got you…"

"Daddy, I'm okay." Sissi felt hollow. "I'm okay."

"You ran off." His voice was shaking like his hands. "I've been looking everywhere I could- I could never have seen you again – you could've been_ dead _–"

"I'm not. I found the girls…"

"But what if you were?" Mr. Delmas pulled Sissi's face out of his chest. His glasses were missing, and his eyes were wide and puffy – Sissi wondered if he'd been crying. "This isn't a game. This isn't… this isn't anything we can take on by ourselves."

When Sissi didn't answer, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're not leaving this spot. Do you understand?"

Sissi felt the urge to twist away from her father. "You let Yumi go," she said instead. "Why wasn't it too dangerous for her?"

"She –" He sighed. "Sissi, this isn't the time. We're going to wait here until the others show up, and we're not going to concern ourselves with anything else." He turned away from her. "Alec, how do things look?"

"I haven't seen anyone." Sissi peered over her father's shoulder – until that moment she hadn't known that Mr. Mermond was with them. He was standing by the wheelchair, holding Lucille and Celine in his arms while Magali hugged his legs. Milly sat in the wheelchair, looking away.

"It's been half an hour," Mr. Delmas said. "All the people coming through, and not a single one-"

"There was a guy who said he saw Mommy," Lucille said. "But he didn't say where."

"He DID?" Mr. Mermond's eyes went wide. "That's – well, Mommy isn't difficult to spot, and if we haven't seen her here chances are she's still inside. She may be safe…but…" He set Lucille on the ground, holding her hand. "Mag, hold your sister's hand. We're not leaving without Mommy and Uncle Matt."

"Wait, what are you – you could leave them with us!" Mr. Delmas offered, but it was too late. Mr. Mermond and his daughters had vanished into the tide.

"I don't believe this." For a moment Mr. Delmas looked about ready to kick the ground, but instead he leaned against the wall, a hand over his eyes – but the other kept firmly on Sissi. "First you, then…the Ishiyamas, now them…why can't anyone just…stay still?"

Sissi tried not to look up at her father – or at Milly, for that matter. "I'll wait with you. I'm sorry."

"There's no point anymore. It's just you and me again. And Milly, now." He turned to look at her, putting on a smile. "If we don't find anyone else in the crowd, I'm sorry, but they're lost. Soon as we can get out, we're going to go as far away as we can."

"No!" Sissi shouted. Her father jumped – it was strange to see how scared he had looked. "It's just – Yumi and William told us to wait at the tree. And if we can find them…"

Mr. Delmas was silent for a long time. "If Yumi's going there, then her parents can find her," he finally said. "I suppose it's as good a place to wait as any."

* * *

_February 14_

_20 minutes earlier_

"Yech!"

William jumped back as the fire alarm squirted ink all over his hands. "Don't tell me this is why you needed me to do it."

"Well…yeah, maybe." Yumi grinned and shrugged. "Hey, it's not a half-bad look for you."

"Right." As William was looking down at his hands, a series of loud sirens sounded, followed by screams and pounding noises as the refugees began to react. "So, uh, the power's not out!" he yelled above the noise.

"Nope!" Yumi yelled back. "And if I'm right it probably never – _get back_!"

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him against the wall. William had seen the cause of her panic even before she'd yelled – the refugees were streaming out of the rooms, jostling this way and that and creating an enormous writhing mass from which few appeared to be escaping into the stairwell. There were no soldiers among them – not on this side of the hall, anyway – nor anyone he knew or recognized. Meaning Sissi, in all likelihood, was-

"Listen," Yumi said, interrupting the thought. "Is there any kind of electrical room around here, or a base of communications for the soldiers?"

"Well-" Five seconds earlier William would've been able to tell her exactly where both of those things were – right near the gym and off the back end of the front hall, respectively – but he'd just noticed how close Yumi's face was to his, and his heart was beating faster than ever before.

He didn't know what his face must've looked like, but whatever it was, Yumi's eyes went wide and she pulled away. "Well, thank you, that was very helpful," she said.

"The electrical room's near the gym and the DF base of communications is off the back end of the front hall," William said very fast.

"That _was_ very helpful." Yumi put her hand to her chin. "It looks like the soldiers have been affected the most, and they are the biggest threat. Chances are XANA's using their systems to control them-"

"XANA? That's-"

"So the base of communications is a better bet. What's the fastest way there?"

"The stairs right there. But XANA – is that the name of the thing attacking us?"

"I don't have time to explain."

"Well, given the crowd, it looks like we have all the time in the world, and I do have a lot of questions."

"Eurgh. Fine. But you're answering just as many."

"Deal."

"Let's go." Yumi took William's hand and pulled him down the hall, towards the stairs. There was an enormous crush of people, but Yumi deftly made her way through a good portion of the crowd.

Right near the stairs a group refused to let them through, so she turned back to William. "Okay, to answer your question – yes, yes it is."

"Gotcha. How do you know its name?"

"Not so fast, it's my turn. How do you know about XANA at all?"

She looked especially perplexed, and William found himself growing more and more confused in turn. "Well, that's a long story."

"I thought you said we had all the time in the world – hang on! COMING THROUGH!"

With a kick, Yumi managed to break the block and pull William onto the stairs. Here things were moving a little faster, and Yumi didn't look back at him until the second floor, when they hit a block again. "In a nutshell, please," she said then. "It might be important."

"Okay, in a nutshell – XANA took over France, it killed half the country, everyone here's hiding from him because until about twenty minutes ago we thought it couldn't cross water."

It wasn't until he saw the look on Yumi's face – her wide eyes, thin lips, and bloodless cheeks – that he realized how _casual _he'd just sounded. "That…well…that figures," she said.

"What figures?"

"It's just like Sissi said, isn't it? Everyone's dead." For a moment she looked faint – but she shook her head violently, and the look was gone. "What's wrong with me? This isn't important. We're moving."

"Yumi-"

William didn't get the chance to finish – they were at the stairway exit. The crowd seemed to all be headed in one direction, so Yumi and William pulled off to the other. There were two hallways branching off to the right and left. "Well, which way's fastest?" Yumi said.

"The crowded one, usually." William pointed toward the tide of people. "But the left hand here loops around."

"Perfect." Yumi began running again, but stopped after only a few feet. "How do you know your way around here so well?"

William smirked. "Last time I checked it was my turn to ask a question."

"William, stop being difficult." She began walking again, taking long strides, but not quite running. "No one ever said we'd take turns."

"Well, I didn't, but as for you, well…that's another story." William caught up to her shortly, taking her hand. "And I don't think I ever told you my name."

Yumi's eyes went wide again, but only for a second. "I thought you wanted to know how I knew XANA's name."

"I think I've changed my mind. Here's a question – where do I go to school?"

"Ka-" Yumi closed her mouth. "Wait a minute. Why shouldn't I know your name?"

"Well, I've never met you before. Not technically. Unless you have a different opinion."

Yumi took a deep breath. "You know what, I give up. No more questions. Let's just disable the hub and get it over with. How much farther?"

"One more."

"One more door?"

"Well, that too, but one more _question_."

"No."

"You were pretty harsh on Sissi back there."

Yumi stopped short. "We're not going to talk about Sissi."

"She didn't want to talk about you either."

"And you want me to tell you why? Isn't it obvious?" For the first time, Yumi looked well and truly angry. "I don't know what she did to win you over, but if you knew the kind of things she's done-"

"I do and then some," William said, "but she wanted to talk to you a whole lot more than I did."

"Well…she can wait, then. This door, right?"

They were standing in front of a large set of double doors. "Yeah," William said. "That leads right into their offices. You'd think there'd be more guards…"

Yumi had stopped listening at "Yeah", which became clear to William when she kicked the door in. The military offices were, as far as William could see, a series of partitions with exactly one guard. His eyes flashed when he saw her, but only for a moment before Yumi kicked him square in the neck.

Four more soldiers came out of the woodwork as the first fell to the floor, and Yumi could only disable one before two grabbed her from behind. The disabled soldier's gun skittered to William's feet, and, running solely on adrenaline, he managed to pick it up and hit the soldier that was cocking his own gun. This gave Yumi enough time to break free, and soon the inner sanctum was unprotected.

"They all came from that direction," Yumi said, pointing at one partitioned area. "They must have been protecting something."

"Sure, okay." William leaned against one of the partitions. "Is it normal for you to take down guys twice your size? Sissi never mentioned that."

"I said no more questions," she said. As she turned to face the area, she began whispering to herself. "No, I'm going, I'm going, William's just getting in my way…I'll explain later!"

"Bless you?"

Yumi ignored him and kept walking. The area from which the guards had come was exactly what William had expected – an area filled from top to bottom with computer cages and communication equipment. There was a central switchboard that was sparking slightly, and the entire room was warmer than the rest of the area. "Unplug everything you can find," Yumi said. "If anything attacks, leave it to me."

"What do you mean?" William said, but Yumi had gotten to work, unplugging power strips across the room. William went to the other side and did the same, darkening computer cages as he went. After two minutes, all had been done but the final cable connecting the cages to the communications switchboard. Yumi would not allow William to touch this one – and when she pulled it, she winced in pain.

The switchboard sparked loudly, and the lights in the room flickered. There were several loud _thumps_ outside the door, and William could hear faint cheers from the outside. "Was that it?" he asked.

"It…it'd better be…oh, no…"

Yumi crawled slowly away from the console, and turned to face William. He started when he saw her – her face looked pinched and strained, and she was shaking all over. "He knows I'm here," she said. "He's…"

"He's what? What did he do?" William bent down immediately. He tried to put her arm around his shoulder, and while she pulled away the first time, she did not the second.

"We have to get outside. Outside to the tree…" She panted heavily, but there was a smile on her face. "I think I do have to explain some things to someone."

* * *

_30 minutes later_

"See anyone?"

Mr. Delmas narrowed his eyes once more, and Sissi looked up in the same direction. There were tiny toy people filing out from the front door of Avenshire still, but the alarm had long ceased and they had not seen a soldier for many minutes. There were people of all shapes, sizes and colors coming out the door, but none of them were familiar to her.

"If I had," Mr. Delmas went on anyway, "you'd be the first to know, Sissi."

"If they don't come out, should we go back in and get them?"

"Not until we hear it's safe."

"It wasn't safe before, and we got out."

"Sissi, you wanted to stay here. We're staying here."

"You don't understand," Sissi said, but to this her father did not reply. She turned away from him and walked to the other side of the tree, where she sat with her hands on her knees. Milly was sitting in the wheelchair beside her, alternating between looking down at her and playing with her doll. They had Milly, and they had each other, but they didn't have anything else – Mr. Delmas, in his haste, had not taken any of their belongings.

"I could do it," she said to herself. "I fought them off, I saved you, I saved the girls…if they're in trouble, I could get them…"

Milly did not respond, and Sissi had not expected her to, but she went on. "Yumi didn't believe in me, and neither did my father. Who do you think is right? Probably them, right?"

Milly wasn't even looking in her direction. Before she could put her head to join her hands, however, she heard faint yelling coming over the hill. "Mr. Delmas!" a voice said – and she knew the voice. "MR. DELMAS!"

"William!" she yelled, jumping up before her father even knew what was going on. She ran round to the front of the tree. "William, over here!"

"Oh, wait – SISSI!" The two shapes that had emerged from the door became clearer and clearer as they stumbled for the tree – much to Sissi's shock. Apart from some scrapes and large ink stains all up his hands and arms William appeared to be fine, but Yumi was slung over her shoulder, her head facing the ground, limping with his support.

"She's been hurt," Mr. Delmas said to himself. Both he and Sissi ran to relieve William, but when they reached her she waved them away.

"It's okay, I'm fine," she said in a hoarse voice. "Well…no. That's a lie. William, set me down here." William nodded and lay her on the grass.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Delmas grabbed her shoulder anyway. "Yumi, I'm sorry. We haven't seen your parents. We'll wait by the tree until they come, and then we can all–"

"It doesn't...matter, sir." Yumi bit her lip. "Listen…"

She looked directly up at Sissi, much to her surprise. "I can't tell you why, but don't have much time. Sissi, you know where to go better than anyone else. Get to the factory. Go to Lyoko. Deactivate the tower. It's the only way…"

If Yumi had expected Sissi to make any sense of this, she was dead wrong. "Factory?" she repeated. "Lyoko…tower…what the – why should I know what any of that is?"

"It's the factory…the one near the school. It's the only way to stop this. The only way. I'm sorry. I'm…sorry I…didn't…"

"Didn't what?" William attempted to touch Yumi's shoulder, but she pushed him away. "Yumi, what's going on?"

"I'm losing…" Yumi's teeth began to clatter, and her eyes widened in horror. "I can't…abort mission, abort…!"

Her lips froze, her fingers trembled, and her eyes rolled back into her head for several seconds before her mouth, eyes, and body resumed the limp, unmoving state they had held for the past four months.


	14. The New Warriors

Hello again, everyone! First off, thank you so, SO much for all the kind words and reviews you've given to Ghosts in the Machine so far, despite the great stretches of time between updates. As a reward for your patience, I present to you, a new chapter _TWO DAYS_ after the previous update! Wild, isn't it? This one just came flowing out and I hope the next ones will do the same. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14  
The New Warriors**

The sun was just setting over the tops of Dublin's tallest buildings, casting them in a shadow that made the oranges and yellows in the sky stand out even more brilliantly. Ordinarily the residents and staff of Dublin Shelter 5 saw them only as grey, indistinct reminders of a time long gone, but at twilight they became magical – hopeful, even.

At least, that was what Private O'Leary knew was happening. The shelter had been a warehouse at one time, and there were no windows near the front door he was guarding. Instead he was overseeing a great crowd of people stretching in a line down the side of the hall, waiting to be registered. This wasn't a usual occurrence – for all intents and purposes the shelter was full, but in wake of what he'd only been told was a "permanent evacuation of Dublin Shelter 11", space had been found in Shelters 1 through 10 where no one else had wanted it. And even then, just five seconds before, all of that space had run out, or so he'd been told and could believe. The area where he was stationed bumped up against the camp of a family of six, and there were still more as far as he could see across the factory floor.

And then there was a knock on the door.

He'd been taught to expect this, and the guilt he felt at the response he'd have to give them was just another obstacle in the way of doing his job. He opened the door without completely addressing it.

He hardly thought of them as individuals anymore, and yet there they were. One adult, three teenagers, one injured teenager. He absorbed no more detail. "No room," he said. "Sorry-"

[I speak English,] the adult said, cutting him off. This forced O'Leary to give him another look. Middling height, grey hair, overgrown beard. [If there's anywhere we could just stay temporarily, the children-]

O'Leary was more irritated than relieved that he'd have to prolong the conversation. [Look, I'm sorry, but I really have nowhere to put you. I know where you're from so don't try that. Even our emergency space is full with people that were faster than you.]

[You're sure.]

[I'm very sure.]

[Like you haven't just been ordered not to tell us,] a teenage boy with a distinctly British accent said. This forced O'Leary to acknowledge them as well – one boy, three girls. At least one of them was not related to the adult. Another spoke to the boy in French, which he responded to even more angrily than he'd spoken in English.

"William, that's enough," the man said to the boy. The boy grimaced, but did not continue. [I don't reflect his opinion, sir, but…]

[I haven't been ordered, I only know.] O'Leary bit his lip. An idea had come to him, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to share it with them. In the split second that the doubt vanished, he saw even more about them – the dirt around their ankles, the bruises on their arms, the hollow look in the redheaded girl's eyes.

He looked to the right and to the left – none of his superiors were in sight, none of his equals cared – and cupped his palm around his lips. [If you must…I have the key to one of the caravans in the parking lot,] he said quietly. [There's food and blankets and everything in there. I can let you stay there, but only for tonight, okay?]

[That doesn't matter,] the adult said, looking not quite happy, but tremendously relieved. [Thank you, thank you so much-]

[What's so wrong with us staying longer?] the sharp-tongued boy cut in again.

[William!] the adult called back again.

O'Leary hoped he hadn't given the man any reason to shout. [I don't know what will happen if my superiors discover you,] he said. [If you must stay longer, that can be arranged in the morning. I hope your son will understand that.]

[He's not my son,] the man said, at the same time that the boy called William burst out laughing. O'Leary resolved to himself not to say another word unless he was prompted, and pointed around to the side of the building as he stepped away from his post.

* * *

They were halfway around the building by the time William finished explaining to Sissi and Milly what was going on. Staying in a caravan, where an eternity ago she'd spent many nights, wasn't quite what Sissi had expected, but, in a way, it was almost more. The soldier took them to a fenced area where five were stored, unlocked one from the back, showed her father where to find the food and blankets, and walked back into the building without another word.

Although Mr. Delmas's watch showed that the time was only seven o'clock, they all took blankets anyway. The food in question was very familiar to Sissi – caravan food, canned and eaten directly from the can. William was somewhat suspicious of it at first, but at the sight of everyone else eating without complaint, he did so as well. The taste was bland and nondescript, but the idea of eating it again made it more sickening than ever.

She'd left Avenshire. Truly, it was all she'd ever wanted, she thought to herself as she endured another mouthful in silence. She'd always hated conversation in Room 404 (the Mermonds, the Ishiyamas, Luisa, what had happened to them? They hardly seemed real anymore and no one was talking about them) but the silence was worse. Milly alternated between looking at the ground and looking at Sissi – Sissi tried not to look at her, and wondered if she was able to speak, or just chose not to. William was deliberately avoiding her eyes, visibly shaken, always breathing in but never speaking, always looking back at her father, who was busy spoon-feeding the _thing_ that had saved all their lives.

She'd been on the verge of telling them everything. Who was she? What was she? Why had she said and done the things she had? If she'd been anyone but herself she could talk and people would listen.

The best thing she'd ever called her was a "freak." She hated whenever that memory surfaced.

No one knew what time it was when they got under the blankets and spread out on the benches – Milly and Sissi on one side, and William on the other, and Yumi in her chair, a blanket haphazardly thrown over her. Mr. Delmas tried to give them some reassuring words – "This'll all be sorted out in the morning, I'm sure, don't worry" – but he looked less and less reassured himself as he said them.

Some goodnights were said as Mr. Delmas turned the lights out. In the darkness that followed, Sissi could hear Milly turning over and humming to herself, but nothing else – not even a snore from her father. She tried to close her eyes, but whenever she did the sight of Yumi kicking in a soldier's head would flash in her memory – a preview of the dreams she'd have if she fell asleep.

_Get to the factory. Go to Lyoko. Deactivate the tower._ The last two lines were nonsense for all she knew, and the factory…there was an entire district of rotting factories near Kadic. _It's the only way to stop this…_ No one had said anything about it since they'd left. Not even William, as much as he'd insisted on Yumi's importance. But with her father around…she had no idea what her father had been thinking.

If she wanted to test the waters it was now or never. She took a deep breath. "Daddy?"

"Sissi?" The response was immediate – there was no way her father had been asleep. "Sissi, what is it?"

"About what Yumi said… about…factories…what do you think that means?"

Her father sighed heavily. "I wish I knew, Sissi," he said. "I didn't want to speculate until I was sure, but the more I think of it, it sounds like it may never have meant anything at all. You know what happened, and you know how her mind is."

"But she told me -"

"I know. I was there." His sheets shifted. "Goodnight, Sissi."

"Goodnight." She shifted her own sheets, turning her head to face the pillow. She didn't believe her father for a second, but now she knew his opinion. If only she could call out to William without rousing her father…

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but _she was back at Avenshire again, back watching Yumi punching and kicking, running towards them like she had before except this time it was _her _she grabbed, not William, and they were running, running, running through the halls except it wasn't Avenshire, these halls were green, green and metallic, and Yumi wasn't Yumi, it was _him, _and he was standing in the yellow columns extending to the sky, teasing her like he always did… _"Sissi," _he'd say, _"Sissi, wake up," _and Kiwi was barking and…_

"Sissi," William hissed again, pulling her sheets so hard they fell off her in a heap. She curled up, shivering, but knew better than to shriek; instead she spun around, snarling at what she saw: William, lying down flat in the spaces between the benches, holding her blankets and grinning.

"William!" Sissi whispered. "What was that about? Eurgh, what time is it?"

"No idea. Way to include me in the conversation back there." William threw her blankets back. "Want to hear what I think?"

"I couldn't call out to you without him hearing." Sissi hoped he couldn't see her blush.

"…Fair enough." She could see William smiling. He got up from the crawl space and sat himself on her bed. "One thing I know – my theories about Yumi don't seem so crazy anymore, do they?"

It made Sissi uncomfortable just thinking about it. "She knew exactly what to do," she said. "She asked me specifically for the people that…didn't make it…Ulrich, Odd, that…Aelita girl…but not Jeremie…"

"I heard her mumbling about him while I was with her – and that's not all I heard." William grinned. "The force that's attacking us – its name is XANA."

"She did know." The confirmation knocked the wind out of her. "She knew all along. The things she was saying…she was giving me the directions to defeat it."

She pulled her knees up to her chest. "She trusted me…I…" _I'm not powerless anymore. I never have to go back to Avenshire and I can go and I can go to Lyoko and I can deactivate the tower. _"William-"

"Shhh." William held a finger over his lips, and pointed over at the next bed. Sissi looked over, and her eyes widened – Milly was sitting up in her bed, looking directly at them and gripping her sheets. Her look wasn't as empty as usual – it was searching, inquisitive.

"I wonder," William said, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Milly, did you hear what we said? Nod if you did."

She nodded, to Sissi's surprise. "Do you understand?" William went on. Nod. "Well…do you have anything to add? I have a pen and paper-" Rapid nodding. "Very well."

He pulled his notebook out of his bag and turned to an empty page. Milly took the notepad, wrote rapidly, and turned it back to face them. **TELL THE SOLDIERS**, it said in shaky writing.

William bit his lip. "I dunno about that," he said. "If XANA attacks again, he can already infiltrate them…"

"Then what do you think we should do?" Sissi said. "We can't go back ourselves-"

She stopped short for a second. "Unless we can," she said. The ideas flowed out of her mouth as they were made. "We have the caravans right here. They have food, and shelter, and weapons, and there's probably extra fuel we can take nearby, and it can't be too hard to get the hang of driving this thing…"

"That is the craziest thing I've ever heard you say," William said, grinning deviously. "You do not even KNOW how much I am in."

Adrenaline shook every inch of Sissi's body. "We're going to do it. We're going to DO it, and we can, and…"

"Well, it's not going to be that easy," William said, though he looked as though he didn't care what he was saying. "Well, I _do _know how to drive, but only go-karts, and in any case we don't have a key-"

"The soldier did!" Sissi said. "I can pick the lock on the door and you can go in and get it."

"You can pick locks? This gets better and better," William said. "Okay…next problem. There's only two of us and a whole lot of-"

"Yumi," Sissi said. "If she comes to life again- of course until then she's just creepy. Not to mention a burden." She side-eyed Yumi, who was still sitting, wide-awake and stock-still. Looking down, she could see Milly looking at her as well. She expected Milly to be as scared of her as she had been of everything else, but there was a smile on her face – a small, serene one.

"Milly," William said. Milly turned her head without changing her expression. "I know you heard. Are you in?"

Milly did not nod, nor did she shake her head. She picked up the paper, wrote some more, and held it up. Directly under the first message was another. **I DON'T TRUST HER**

Sissi felt a hot, angry feeling rising in her chest. She felt the urge to grab Milly, to tell her exactly what she felt about not being trusted, about how much _she_'d suffered…she remembered the tears in her eyes that day, and forced herself not to be moved, though she said nothing. She merely returned the stare that Milly was giving her.

"Okay, we're not forcing you," William said. "Looks like that leaves us with…"

He motioned at Mr. Delmas, who was sound asleep on the other side of the room. Sissi looked over at him, and a chill went up her spine. "He'd never allow this," she said. "Not in a million years."

William held his hand up to his chin. "Well," he said. "It's not like he wouldn't be safe here. And without us, they might find some room…"

"We're leaving him behind, then."

"Are you scared?"

Sissi looked over at her father. He'd helped her through thick and thin. He'd stayed with her when everyone else had gone. He'd held her in her darkest moments, reassured her when she thought all was lost…but as of late, she'd grown not to need his help. "He'll probably tell the soldiers himself," she said. "And they'll probably track the stolen caravan…"

"We'll just have to outrun them, then." William grinned. "Think this old lug's GPS still works?"

"Speaking of that," Sissi said, remembering suddenly. "My father told me once that there were two Kadic students in Birmingham. Nicolas Poliakoff…and Tamiya Diop. If we can find their shelter and meet up with them, that would…"

She had said the name carefully, and it had the desired effect. Milly's jaw hit the floor, and she scrawled rapidly on William's notebook. When she was done, she practically hit them with it in order to get their attention. **I'M ONLY IN IT FOR TAMIYA**, it said.

"Perfect!" William said. "That's four of us now. Four kids who…don't have any idea how to use weapons." William sank back on the bench for what was sure to be the last time. "Why did Yumi trust us with this again?"

"Well," Sissi said. "I don't know. But I don't think she has any idea how to use weapons either. Come on. It's now or never."

* * *

Sissi and Milly sat together for over an hour before William returned with the key. Milly had William's notebook on her lap, but she did not write any messages to her, and Sissi did not attempt to make conversation. It wasn't just that she didn't feel like talking to Milly – she was lost in her own adrenaline, unable to believe she'd made the decisions she had. It was the kind of thing adults did, adults who weren't as lucky as her. It was all she could do not to tap against the benches, if she didn't want to wake her father.

When William did return, he had a key with a large number "3" panted on it – taken from a guard station when the guard went to the bathroom, he said. Caravan number 3 was two caravans over from 5, the one they were currently in – William said he had been sure to get a different one, so that they would not have to move Mr. Delmas. He had seen extra fuel barrels by the side door, and he was sure they'd be able to move at least one.

This moving took another hour, and was more difficult than any of them could have anticipated. The extra food and water was easy enough, but the fuel barrel took almost twenty minutes and much grunting to move. Yumi was the final piece of cargo – and after some arguing over whether they truly needed her, it was all they could do to remove her silently. After several tense moments, Sissi finally let her go down the loading ramp, and William eased her down onto the pavement.

All that remained was to leave. Before she could stop herself, Sissi looked back into the caravan. There were no blankets or cans around – they'd taken them all – so it almost looked as though she, William, Milly, and Yumi had never been there. All that remained was her father, sleeping soundly…

Except, when she turned to look at him, he wasn't sleeping at all – but at the same time, he wasn't quite awake. His head was above the pillow, but he was squinting, and feeling around for his glasses. "Sissi?" he said. "Sissi, is everything alright?"

Sissi stood, frozen. For a moment she didn't know what to say. The next, she knew exactly what – _no, no, it's not alright, not at all, Daddy, they've gone crazy, they're – _but then the moment was gone, and new words were in place. "Yes, Daddy, I'm fine," she said, steeling herself against the spasms in her chest. "I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Good, very good," her father said. "Goodnight."

She turned away and shut the door behind her. By the time she reached William and Milly again, they were just attempting to get Yumi up the ramp into the other caravan. With her help they were able to push her in, and they closed the doors behind them. They high-fived each other silently, but didn't waste another moment. The three of them clamored into the cab.

None of them had ever seen the cab of the caravan before. There were two seats, innumerable dials, and a GPS mounted on the dashboard, but the driving controls appeared quite standard. Sissi did some quick fiddling with the GPS, and was able to find a boon she had not expected – a barge route between Ireland and Wales. As she was still setting the route, William turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.

* * *

[Hello?]

Mr. Delmas woke with a start at the sound, almost hitting his head against the side of the caravan. He rubbed it slightly anyway, fumbling around for his glasses. The yelling continued in English; it couldn't be anyone but the soldier again, looking to kick them out. He wondered whether to tell the children to delay as long as they could – but, thinking again, he thought that might not be sporting of them. "Everyone, get up, that's them wanting us," he said, grabbing his glasses at last.

There was no response from any of them. Mr. Delmas was just thinking about how tired they must be to sleep so long when he put on his glasses and saw what was there – or, as he soon found, the lack thereof.

He ran to the caravan door and threw it open. There wasn't just one soldier, but dozens, all with their hands on their pistols. The one at the front, however, was the same one from last night – and he looked more inquisitive than upset. [Ah, good morning!] he said. [Looks like you are here. Sorry for all the fuss, a caravan was stolen last night, see-]

As soon as the knowledge hit Mr. Delmas's head, his vision blurred. Several soldiers ran forward to catch him as he sank into a dead faint.

* * *

**END OF ACT ONE: AVENSHIRE ACADEMY**

* * *

I can't believe I actually made it here. Wow.

It's been two years now, but it's been amazing all the same. This is one of the greatest things I've ever written and I'm so happy you're here to share it with me. Act Two is going to begin very soon, and that's a promise.

- Carth


	15. Dun Lagohaire

Greetings, everyone! First of all, every single review I get just…brings a tear to my eye. I feel like all the love and the work I put into this story is its own reward for sure, but thanks to you I feel like what I think is good is in fact great. I'm sorry, truly sorry, the story had such a slow start. It's summer now, and I'm determined to put work into this story and finish at least Act 2 before I go back to school.

To answer some points that were brought up in the reviews:  
1. Yes, good CL fics are quite rare! But I can recommend some authors to you: Stonecreek, Lemonsdarling, G-Force, SilverPrince (who's actually only posting on AO3 right now…GITM is on AO3, but I haven't updated past Chapter 5…sorry!) and neon-flights! They're a bit more lighthearted than this.  
2. Yep, William had visions in canon (go revisit Double Trouble). Just so you know I didn't pull that out of my kiester! I shall explain no more at this time.  
3. Act Two will indeed be in the same story! There will be three acts, plus an epilogue, and Act Two will be substantially shorter than the others. There will be no intermissions; I came up with all this before I'd ever heard of Homestuck.  
4. I apologize for the slow pace. I'm quite long winded. I'll condense where possible because as you can tell this story is going slow.

Anyway, here's Act Two after all that caterwauling! See you at the end!

* * *

**ACT TWO: ROADS**

**Chapter 15  
Dún Lagohaire**

_February 15  
8:30 AM  
Dún Lagohaire, Ireland_

_[Ferry to port, prepare for docking in 15 minutes. Assemble cargo.]_

_[Port to ferry, cargo assembled and ready for docking.]_

William's finger trembled over the ON/OFF switch in time with the trembling of his lips. The shortwave radio had not been designed for one-way communication on this channel, and as much as Sissi and William had looked, they had not found a way to disable their microphone without tearing the whole radio out.

They had been sitting in silence for hours upon hours. Sissi currently held Milly's notepad; several pages had been torn off. Sissi's own tidy handwriting – _Any bright ideas? _– headed the page, and William's scrawl – _Keep thinking _– was the only answer. Milly had not taken any part in any of their short exchanges; she sat between them, but if she had any opinions beyond a slight narrowing of her eyes she did not share them. Yumi was, as ever, seated in the hold of the caravan where they could not see her, belted to the chair and wall.

Sissi had thought and thought, but soon enough she was tired of thinking. She picked up the pencil – which by this time was quite dull – and placed it over the paper, but thought better of it. She reached over and pressed the pencil down on William's hand, flipping the ON/OFF switch to OFF.

William jerked his hand up in surprise. "Hey!" he shouted. "They're leaving in fifteen minutes, they might say something important!"

"Really? They haven't so far!" Sissi threw her hands up into William's face. "They're not here to help us, you know!"

"Well, yeah, no. I thought you knew this wasn't going to be easy."

"Exactly," Sissi said, her face hot with frustration. "The radio hasn't told us anything useful and it's not going to. If we're going to do anything, we have to do it for ourselves."

Milly coughed. Sissi turned and raised an eyebrow at her, but Milly made no move to pick up the notepad, so she turned back to William. "Well then," he then said, leaning back in his seat. "What do you think we're going to just…do?"

"Well, for one thing, listening isn't looking." Sissi stood up in her seat. There was a hatch on the roof of the caravan; she unlocked the hinge, allowing the hatch to swing down between the seats. "Give me a boost."

"You're going to be seen," William said, but Sissi gave him a look, and in the end he pushed her through anyway. The windshield of the caravan was blocked by the bushes they'd parked in, but when Sissi was through the hatch and comfortably seated on the roof, she could see over the tops of the trees and all the way to the shoreline.

The Dún Lagohaire port was large and metallic; it looked dead compared to the warm glow of the sunrise and the trees gently swaying in the breeze. Her hair was blowing softly into her face; she winced for a moment at the tangles she saw, but she brushed them away - she would fuss with them later. For now, her eyes had to be on the tiny figures, doll-like in her sight, standing around the port, and the model-like outline of the military ferry coming over the horizon.

She leant over and stuck her head into the hatch. "It's almost here," she called down.

"You've learned so many new things," William said. Milly was chuckling softly, her hand over her mouth.

"I wasn't done." Sissi scowled at them both, then took a quick look back at the port, to confirm what she was about to say. "I can see the loading dock. Most of the people are standing in one place, and the boat's headed for them."

"Is there anything else there?" William stood on the seat in an attempt to see out the hatch, but there was no way Milly would be able to lift him through it. "The radio mentioned cargo."

Sissi took another look back. She could see more detail than she'd expected; apart from the personnel the actual dock was empty, but, set apart by a fence, several metal structures sat in rows. From the top she recognized none of them – except for the short, black squares in the back of the line. "Caravans?" she said aloud – but as soon as she began to hope, she saw the guardpost next to the loading dock.

"Can't hear you," William called from the hatch.

"Forget it," she yelled back.

"Famous last words."

Sissi grumbled, and popped her head back in, dangling inches from William's face. "There's caravans on the loading dock."

"Seriously?" William's jaw dropped, then clamped shut just as fast. "And what's the bad news?"

"There's a guardpost. I'm coming back in." Sissi swung her legs around and lowered herself between William and Milly, who had taken her old seat. Milly had now picked up the notepad, and was currently busily writing on it. Sissi didn't pay her any mind – she slouched in her seat, and looked sideways at William. "I could be asleep right now," she grumbled.

"That wasn't what you were saying last night." William folded his arms. "Look, there's a civilian ferry back in Dublin. I don't know if it's running, and clearly we can't take the caravan, but if we can just get across-"

"If we can just get across we'll have to trade this for a sheep."

"Yep…pretty much." William slumped to her level and looked out the windshield. They sat in silence for a few moments. Milly finished writing after one, tapped William on the shoulder, and showed him her message – **YOU COULD DISGUISE YOURSELF. **William calmly explained the reasons this wouldn't be possible – no ID, for one – and they sat in silence once again.

Sissi didn't take her eyes off William, but he had no inspiration, and neither did she. Sooner or later, the boat would be docking, but they…

"Hey."

"Hm?" Sissi started at the sound of William's voice.

"Remember when you could take a plane to France?" He laughed at himself. "Good times…good times."

"Yeah…" Sissi expected the memory to hurt, but to her own surprise, her mood felt lighter. "Remember when people…took planes?"

"Nope." It stung, but they laughed anyway. "So, where do you think those caravans are going?" He paused briefly. "Do you even know what's going on in the rest of the world?"

"No…not really." Sissi thought back to what she'd seen. The small, dark shapes were definitely caravans, but there had been other shapes – some larger, and some brighter in color. "But there were only two caravans. There were thousands in Paris. Everything else…wasn't."

"That's weird," William said. "I haven't seen anything here that isn't a caravan."

"They're small," Sissi said, "Except – wait a minute. I'm going up again."

With a boost from William, she pushed herself through the hatch and stood on the roof of the car. While they had been talking the ship had docked; she saw people running all around, but no one was on or near the barge. As she watched, a large, thin blue structure she had not paid attention to before leant down and grabbed one of the caravans on a hook, sending scrap metal flying –

Sissi fell down into the cabin so fast, Milly had to scramble out of the way. As it was, she landed on the median, and swore loudly before turning to William. "Floor it. We're getting on."

"Wait, what?" Despite his confusion, William had the key in the ignition in a flash. "What'd you see."

"I'll explain on the way." Sissi winked. "Trust me."

* * *

"Well." William buckled his second seatbelt across his chest. He looked frantically round for another, but couldn't find one.

"Hm?" Sissi hadn't actually looked up at William for some time – she was hunting for Yumi's belt buckle. They had, at the last moment, remembered that Yumi probably would come off worse for the wear if they left her in the cabin for the boarding, so they had brought her up to the front. There were only three sets of belts; Sissi had been about to buckle her in with Milly, but upon seeing Milly's reaction to her actions she acted on a whim and strapped her in with herself.

"I know you told me to trust you, but this_ is_ going to need a lot of trust. I'm talking gobs. Buckets. More trust than you can shake a stick at."

"Don't tell me you're chicken." Sissi finally uncovered the buckle, fastened it, and sat up straight.

"Oh, come on! I never said you were scared. Hell, I refuse to believe _you're_ not scared." William folded his arms over his chest. "You're scared of everything."

"You're talking like you know me."

"I do know you."

Sissi grumbled. "So you're assuming."

"Should we really be having this conversation_ now_?" As William spoke, the crane swung down before their eyes, grabbing the caravan in front of them. The freight area was clear but for them; the personnel they saw, stationed behind several **DO NOT ENTER FREIGHT AREA WHEN CRANE IS IN OPERATION** signs, weren't looking in their direction. It was those warning signs they had to thank for them being able to sneak in unnoticed – Sissi wasn't counting on such a miracle ever happening again.

"Is this really what you want to think about?" she said, though the crane was all she could think about.

"No, but thank you."

"You're welcome." Sissi grinned. "And…thank _you_."

William looked faintly bemused at her reply – but if he was going to say something, the _clunk_ of the crane connecting with the caravan drove it out of his mind completely.

The ground fell away beneath them; up, up, up they rushed. Sissi screamed – for a moment she feared William's scorn but when the crane swung them in the direction of the boat she forgot all but movement and fear – Yumi's head lolled lifeless onto her lap and she didn't even care – there was a small gasp, and Milly slumped over – was it inertia, or did she faint? She found she didn't care.

They were still swinging, it was taking forever, Sissi regretted it, she regretted all of it, Yumi was crazy, out of her mind, she wanted to go back, wanted to be asleep and on the ground with her father right there, oh god she'd never left her father before in her life what was she doing what would she do – oh god there's the boat, oh god please don't drop us just lower us

It's lowering it's lowering oh thank you thank you oh god who are you William help there's a guy on deck looking at us why aren't you answering help why are you looking this way _oh god Daddy help me_ –

And then it was over with a _thunk,_ and all they could hear was the sound of the ferry engine roaring to life.

* * *

They sat still for a time, frozen with shock. For a time, Sissi could hardly believe she was alive, let alone on the ground. She let out a small giggle, which worked its way up to a whoop, followed by sustained laughter.

"We made it!" William yelled, holding his hand out for a high five, which she took eagerly. He stretched his hand across Yumi to Milly, who had not fainted, and was even smiling. She high fived him, and he even slapped Yumi on the hand, laughing along. "That was pretty neat, wasn't it?"

"One more word and I'm going to throw you out." They might've sat laughing for some time more if not for the soldier that suddenly walked past the cargo pile.

"Yeah, we'd better get back in the hold," William said.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Working as quickly as they could, they unbuckled Yumi, pushed her through the cabin door into the hold, and followed her into the back. Once there, William strapped her back into her wheelchair, did a cursory check to make sure she was still alive, and turned the chair to face the wall. That done, he did another whoop and collapsed onto a bench. Sissi followed suit, while Milly remained seated, staring at them.

"Well, damn," William said into the bench. "We're…we did it. We're doing this."

"Y-yeah." Sissi could hardly comprehend it. "We're…how did we even…" She sat up straight, and found herself face-to-face with Milly, so she looked aside again. "So…how long's the ferry, usually?"

"The Dublin one's like an hour and a half, so this'll be longer." William saw that Sissi was up, and scrambled to be so as well. "And we'll let out in Holyhead, and then we just have to…get…across all of Britain. Woof. I didn't even think about how boring that's going to be."

"And then…all the way to Paris." Sissi closed her eyes, lost in thought. "It did sound a lot easier when we were talking about it."

"I'm not even actually sure this is happening yet." William paused, and held his hand over his stomach. "Uh, didn't you say something about food?"

"Um...I think it's right here. I'll look." Sissi knew the caravans all had food stores – there was one right behind her – but as she fumbled to open the compartment behind her fear took hold – what if it was empty? It was a relief when she saw the inside – the compartment was nowhere near full, but there were at least two layers of cans on the bottom. The labels, **MEAT, POTATOES, VEGGIE MIX, **and **PEACHES, **were all too familiar to her. "We've got cans. Two, maybe three dozen at least."

"Perfect!" William said, patting his pockets. "I've got a can opener right on my Swiss army knife…back in my other bag at Avenshire." He grumbled. "Is there one there, or are we screwed?"

"There's…supposed to be…" Sissi looked from left to right, and the fear returned in a flash when she saw that the opener was missing from its hook. "Uh…maybe it got moved?"

William and Milly shared a look, and without another word they began searching every inch of the caravan for more compartments. William, having never been in a caravan in his life, rubbed along flat wall space without finding much at all, but Sissi and Milly knew exactly where to find everything – two compartments on each wall, one in the floor. Milly went right for the floor, which held eight sealed jugs of water; Sissi hadn't even considered that need. The first on the opposite wall held five blankets, and the four thin pillows they'd stolen from the other caravan. The fuel canister they'd stolen from the other caravan was parked in front of the second; Sissi was just trying to move it when William called out. "Hey, guys!"

She turned to find him standing in front of the compartment next to the food, which was wide open. She could see two large, deadly-looking military assault rifles mounted on the wall, but William wasn't paying them any attention. He was grinning and holding a large survival knife. "I found the can opener," he said.

"Seriously?" Sissi shirked at the sight of the blade. "Do we even know where that's _been_?"

"No, but it's the only thing standing between you and starvation." William attached the knife to his belt loop. "Need any help?"

Together with William, she moved the fuel canister between the compartments. Inside were two adult-size military field uniforms, a first-aid kit empty but for one Band-Aid, and a large, unopened pack of sanitary items, such as toothbrushes and bar soaps. With no clear end to the trip in sight, they looked everywhere could for more supplies. A search of the cabin recovered a half-full lighter, a cigarette pack with one cigarette inside, a pound coin wedged between the seats, and a cassette tape marked [The Best of Queen.]

Back in the cabin, they took stock of their own personal supplies – beyond the clothes on their backs, they had Yumi's wheelchair, the pad and pencil, Milly's headless teddy bear, and William's bag, which contained two more pencils, a tank top, a pair of men's underwear, William's cellphone (which no longer functioned as there was no one left to pay the bill), fifty pence, and a chewed wad of gum. They had no bathroom, no water to spare to wash themselves or their clothes, only £1,50 in usable money, and little to no survival skills.

This done, they took two cans, opened them with the knife, and ate half a can each, spoon-feeding Yumi her share. Then they took four water jugs, labeled them with their names, and added them to the meal. Sissi wasn't sure what she and William spoke about, when she went to sleep, or how long she had been out when she woke. One minute she and William had been discussing whether boiled water was fully safe to drink, and the next William was shaking her awake and pulling her into the front seat. The boat's engine had stopped, and Sissi could see another port, another forest, and an average-sized town spread out before them.

Holyhead, Wales. She was so happy to have made it, the second crane trip felt like nothing more than an amusement park ride. They could see more soldiers walking around, but once again there were none next to the freight storage area. Wary of nearby activity, William started the engine and switched the radio on almost as soon as they hit the ground.

Sissi didn't know what they were saying, but William's face went white as he listened._ [It's just I've run the number on that caravan to figure the transport location. It's not just not on the list, it's been flagged stolen from Dublin. I don't know why we've got it, says something here 'bout a bunch of teenagers-]_

William shut the radio off. "Sissi, plot a course for Birmingham. No highways. We have to get out of here now."

"Wait, are they after us-"

"Sure are!" William turned the radio back on and floored the gas pedal. He almost hit the motion-sensor gate in his attempt to escape, and the radio warmed up just in time for Sissi to hear _[Bloody hell, where'd it go?!]_ fade into static.

* * *

Next chapter, things happen! I was going to add another part onto this one, but I think it meshes better with the next chapter, so you'll get it then. (It's not finished, if it was you'd be getting it.)

- Carth


	16. Birmingham

And here's the next chapter! I don't really know what to say about this one except that it may spice things up a touch. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: These are a bit out of fashion but I feel it's necessary here: I've never been to the UK. I may use real place names but in this story they are as fictionalized as the rest. This story is in no way a reflection or opinion on any places mentioned.

* * *

**Chapter 16  
Birmingham**

_Country Road Near Llanwrst, Wales  
1:30 pm_

**HOW LONG UNTIL WE GET THERE?**

For the fourth time in the past hour, Sissi held the GPS up to Milly so that she could read the estimated time remaining – just under four hours. She wished she could've just said it without having to turn her head to actually _see _that Milly was sitting next to her, but with the shortwave on that just wasn't possible. Even though it was in static, as long as it was on, anything they said could be picked up by anything operating on the same wavelength – but without the radio, anyone could sneak up on them, or so the idea was. Sissi had the sneaking suspicion this wasn't quite how radio worked, but it made them feel safe, though her belief in its usefulness was wearing thin.

As a result no one had spoken for quite some time, apart from the tinny voice of the GPS telling William where to turn. Earlier on, William had said something about the drive being "boring", and she hadn't quite expected how right he was. For one, the caravan shook in a very worrying manner if they tried to go over forty miles per hour, so the trip was slow already. And while the Welsh countryside was both beautiful and empty, before long every knoll and lake and sheep was the same as any other.

If she looked hard enough, which she could do given that she could not talk, she could see subtle signs that all was not as it had been before. Abandoned homes were not infrequent, and here and there she could see signs outside towns or buildings with the same message in three languages – **AUCUNE AIDE ICI. NO AID HERE. DIM CYMORTH YMA. **Several miles back a man smoking outside what looked like a squat of an abandoned farm had yelled something at the car, but through the thick glass they had not been able to hear him. Chances were he wasn't yelling at them, but at the car in which they rode.

Sissi toyed with the GPS in her hands, then looked to each of her sides. William had his eyes directly on the road; though it was so cold outside, there was sweat on his brow. She opened her mouth to ask him if the radio was still needed, but changed her mind at the last moment. Milly…Milly was still holding her last message, and was absentmindedly tearing the corners off. _Pathetic, _she wanted to think. _How pathetic._

As she watched, Milly turned to return her gaze, eyes wide and unblinking. After a short time, however, she reached across Sissi and flicked the radio off. William started at the lack of background noise, and turned to face Sissi. "Why did you do that?"

"What – I didn't!" Sissi sounded more indignant than she'd intended. "It was Milly!"

"Milly?" William looked over at Milly, who did not acknowledge him at all. "Are you sure? I mean, we haven't heard anything in ages, but there's a chance –"

"No, honestly, there isn't. The biggest danger out here is yelling guys and sheep." Sissi felt herself smile. "Maybe we really did get away with it."

"…I was just thinking we shouldn't get used to being confident. But it is a bit quiet in here."

"Yeah." Despite William's words, the quiet returned. Milly began tearing paper, looking out the window as she did. Sissi never quite knew what to make of her behavior. "So…this place…is where you're from," Sissi said to break the silence.

"Well, Cardiff is. I've never actually been this far north in my life-" William swore in the middle of his sentence as he swerved to dodge a chicken in the road. "Sorry, sorry, they keep doing that!"

Milly laughed again, and Sissi couldn't help laughing along – which led Milly to stop. "They are cute, though," Sissi said. "Looking here, you could almost forget where we're going."

"A little…yeah." William didn't take his eyes off the road.

Sissi realized suddenly that he hadn't smiled in quite a while. "Are you…feeling okay?"

"Well…to be honest, no, not at all." William mopped sweat off his brow. "My eyes are killing me. How do people stand this? Wait, what does that sign say?"

Sissi looked over at the sign. "Uh…Rhosllannerchrugog," she said, mangling the pronunciation horribly. "56 kilometers."

"That sounds about right," William said. "I think we should stop there, rest, maybe forage for something…"

"That does sound good." For the first time, Sissi wondered what was going through William's mind. "You know…if this is getting to be too much, we can turn back."

"Sissi, can I say it now so you'll never ask again?"

"Say what?"

"This is literally the most amazing thing that's happened to me in my life, and we're still just driving through nowhere." William did a curious half-smile. "That's what."

"Oh." Sissi wasn't sure how to react. "Okay."

Fifty silent kilometers later, Sissi could see a small town that she assumed to be Rhosllannerchrugog looming in the distance. She pointed this out to William, and they turned off and pulled over on the next side road. Once they had stopped, William climbed over his seat and opened up one of the back compartments. "Thirty minutes and I'll be back to normal," he said. "Can you manage?"

Sissi gave him a thumbs-up, which he returned. She turned around in her chair, and whatever he did after that, she did not see.

She and Milly sat in silence for some time. The pad and pencil sat neglected on the dash; Milly sat stock-still, her hands in her lap. Sissi picked at the hem of her sweater, feeling highly uncomfortable. The memory of her meeting with Milly in the gym rushed back at her like a falling weight; she felt herself reeling, though whether from shock or embarrassment she did not want to think. Outside. She needed to be outside.

"Er,"she said. Milly looked up. "I'm…going to go sit outside." She forced a smile. "Fresh air. You know. I'll…be back."

Milly's expression did not change, and Sissi took that to mean she had no objections. She climbed across to the driver's side door and stepped out into the road.

The chill bit right through her sweater, but it wasn't an unbearable temperature. She sat beneath a nearby tree, looking on at the black behemoth they'd driven halfway across the country – and then at the ground, when she couldn't anymore.

She felt a soft tap against her shoulder. Thinking it was a leaf, Sissi brushed it away, only to find she was brushing against someone's shoulder. She leapt back with a yelp before she realized it was Milly. "Oh!" she said, gathering herself. "You're here…too."

Milly nodded, and pointed down at the pad and paper. Sissi looked down at the paper, only to find that it was completely blank. She shivered. "What…what's that supposed to mean?"

Milly said nothing, so Sissi looked away. "If you didn't want to talk to me, why are you even here?"

This time, Milly's pencil flew over the paper. Sissi watched with a cocked eyebrow, and Milly held up the pad as soon as she was done. **I'M ONLY IN IT FOR TAMIYA.**

"Huh? No, no, I didn't mean…I meant out here." Sissi felt indignant as she turned the words over in her mind. "Why? What do you think you're going to do if we find her?"

More writing. **EVERYTHING. MORE THAN YOU.**

Sissi felt like her heart was standing still. "I…don't really understand what you mean."

**YOU NEVER THOUGHT I COULD DO IT.**

"Do…what? Make big claims?"

**ASK HIM OUT. FIGHT FOR MYSELF. STAY ALIVE.**

She wasn't quite sure what she was talking about – and then she remembered, remembered in excruciating detail. "No. No, that was so long ago," she said despite it all. "Does it even…does it even matter anymore?"

**I FOUGHT BACK. **Milly grinned as she wrote. **I WAS STRONG STRONGER THAN YOU THINK. **

"I don't understand. This doesn't matter anymore. I'm not the enemy. I'm not. XANA is." Sissi pulled her legs up to your chest. "You're insane. You're completely insane."

**YOU DON'T REMEMBER.**

"I do. I remember everything that happened that day. I…I lied before. But it was so long ago, and so much has happened-"

Milly's words flew across the paper. She didn't even bother to hide it from Sissi as she wrote. **YOU'RE WEAK. YOU'RE WEAK AND YOU'RE COWARDLY AND YOU'RE FOOLISH AND YOU'RE A BULLY AND I NEVER WANTED TO SEE OR THINK OF YOU AGAIN AS LONG AS I LIVED AND I WISH MY TEDDY BEAR HAD KILLED YOU INSTEAD OF ULRICH-**

Sissi felt nothing reading the words (nothing of her own, in any case, nothing but the alien sting of another person's hurt), but Milly's fingers started shaking as she read them over again. Her eyes, heretofore so full of life, seemed to go blank. She set her pen to paper again and began crossing them out as fast as she could, panting heavily.

"Huh? Wait, no, what are you doing-!" Sissi reached across to try and stop Milly from crossing them out, but Milly pushed her away with a shriek. Sissi fell back, understanding. "You don't have to."

Milly stopped, her pencil hovering over the paper and her body losing its tension. "Look," Sissi began again. "That day, in the auditorium…I…" She knew what she wanted to say, it was on the tip of her tongue, but his name kept pushing it away. Ulrich. Ulrich.

"No, not I," she said. "Ulrich. Ulrich was a hero. Ulrich gave his life to save us just like Yumi gave her life to save you. They were selfless and strong even before that night. They were better people than I can ever hope to be, and…and I was weak. I was weak and cowardly and foolish. I could never have taken his place." A tear fell down her face. "I can't. Not even now. I'm just not capable."

Milly didn't move. "I hurt you," Sissi went on. "I guess I should apologize, but…who knows? I'll probably just end up doing it again."

Sissi didn't know what she'd expected from that moment. Forgiveness? Understanding? Compassion? Somewhere deep down she probably felt she deserved one of the three, but what she did get, at long last, didn't particularly surprise her, especially with the precision with which Milly wrote it and showed it to her. **ULRICH WOULDN'T GIVE HIS LIFE FOR SOMEONE AS AWFUL AS YOU.**

_Awful. _Sissi had restrained most of her tears, but now they were boiling behind her eyes and spilling out of control. Panic met memory met indignation, and she turned on Milly. "I saved your life," she said, sobbing. "If not for me, XANA's soldiers would have killed you. I saved your life and THIS is the thanks I get?!"

**I DON'T OWE YOU ANYTHING.**

"I could leave you. I could leave you right here."

**I'D FIGHT YOU.**

"No you wouldn't. You're just a little girl-"

About as soon as Sissi realized what she'd said, she felt a dull, relatively soft blow on the side of her head, followed by another. Her head spun for a moment, but when she looked up again, she saw Milly climbing back into the cabin, holding her pad in one hand. One of the pages of the pad – **I'M ONLY IN IT FOR TAMIYA –** still lay at Sissi's feet, with an addendum – **LEAVE ME ALONE.**

* * *

Now that Sissi was determined to ignore Milly entirely, she felt the mood get lighter as they went ahead. William, now fully rested, was chattering up a storm about anything he could think of – the weather, the sheep by the side of the road, childhood stories, you name it – to the point where Sissi found it hard to keep up. Not long after they left they put the Best of Queen tape in, which prompted Sissi to ask why, if the band was called Queen, the lead singer was male, which William found very funny.

Milly showed no signs of the behavior she'd shown outside the cabin, but Sissi didn't know this because she hadn't once looked at her since – she feared her much more than she feared her own actions. She was almost the same as Yumi, now – as she was still in the back, she was out of sight, out of mind apart from the occasional checkup. But between she and William things were jovial; when they crossed the border into England, denoted by nothing but a signpost, they shared a high-five. William, who knew nothing of the exchange during the rest, attempted the same with Milly.

Even as they avoided highways, they found the areas they drove through grew more and more populous as they edged south. They saw their first refugee shelter in Newport, and they only grew more frequent from there. Roadside signs carried rather more religious doomsday messages than usual, and the first shouting man was by far not the last.

By the time they reached the **BIRMINGHAM – 5 KM **sign, it was quite obvious to Sissi that they were, in fact, approaching Birmingham. The sign was in a residential area, with lower buildings, but Sissi could see larger ones looming ahead. "Despite the sign, I think we're here," she said.

[Fat bottomed girls, you make my rockin' world go round…] William switched Queen off when the song ended. "I'd make a joke about you pointing out the obvious, but really it depends. There's so many neighborhoods and boroughs I don't really know what's what…"

**DO WE KNOW WHAT SHELTER SHE'S IN? **Milly had been saving that particular page for quite some time; she shoved it right past Sissi's face and into William's.

"Well, no…" William looked past the paper. "Sissi, anything on there that can find shelters?"

"In your dreams."

"Of course. You know, we do have a lot of stuff," William said. "I don't know how many more people can-"

Milly had been scribbling angily for some time, but Sissi preempted her response. "William, we're not giving up until we've tried-" She saw something out of the corner of her eye – one sign draped over another, much like the signs shelters used. "Wait, what's that? Pull over!"

William pulled over to the side of the road – not an easy feat, in his vehicle – and looked at the school gate to which Sissi was pointing. The paper sign over the school's crest read -

"Birmingham Shelter 33," William translated. "You've got to be kidding me."

"They could have info on the others. Or computers to use." Sissi smiled. "We're parking."

"We can't, it's metered and we've got zilch."

"And are we going to be back to pay the ticket?"

"Astute observation." William grinned. "Looks like we're taking a field trip."

William pulled out, then drove some distance away and parked just close enough to the school that onlookers would think that the caravan was associated with it, but far enough away that the shelter wouldn't see it. William checked on Yumi one last time as Sissi and Milly hopped out. Soon he joined them, and they walked two blocks to the school's gate.

The entrance to the school was guarded by two large, uniformed men, who were standing just inside with rifles slung over their shoulders. When they approached and did not appear to be moving away, the nearest guard looked over at them, but did not open the gate. [Do you need anything?] he said.

[Um, hello,] William said. [We're looking for…] He turned to Sissi. "What are their names?"

"Tamiya Diop and Nicolas Poliakoff."

[Tamiya Diop and Nicolas Poliakoff.]

The man raised an eyebrow. [Are you…French?] he said. [What shelter are you from? You shouldn't be out without an escort-]

William's eyes boggled – this wasn't a danger he'd been expecting. [She's my cousin,] he said hurriedly. [She lives with me and, uh, my sister. She was just looking for some old schoolmates-]

[Hmmmm. Just be sure to stay together.] He appeared to relax, but not very much. [But I don't even know how to spell those names. Sorry, must be somewhere else.]

William's expression hardened. [Well, okay. But maybe if you could tell us where the other shelters are-]

[Around the city.]

[Or if there was a database we could-]

The soldier reached into his bag, threw a folded, laminated map labeled "WELCOME TO BIRMINGHAM!" at William's hands, and turned away. No matter what William tried to say he couldn't get him to respond.

Eventually Sissi pulled him away, as he had begun to curse in French. "Asshole!" he shouted in his direction. "Come on. I bet they were in there and they just didn't give a shit."

"We can come back," Sissi said. "All we need is a shelter that'll let us use their database."

"Yeah, if we can find one." Forlornly, William opened up the map. It was a rather normal tourist map of Birmingham at first sight, but soon William saw that there were black dots marked on the map in Sharpie.

"And maybe it won't be as hard as we think," William said, folding the map back up. "Thanks for the map, asshole."

* * *

_Playground, outskirts of Birmingham  
8 pm_

"Is anyone there?"

She stuck her head in the bushes and he crouched and followed suit. He squinted to see through the leaves, but only saw the same things he'd seen every other time they'd come here to hide. The basketball hoop had had its basket stolen many months ago, but no one had come along to replace it. A beer bottle had been smashed on the court, and glass littered the pavement. The one rickety swing had finally broken, and the slide, though perfectly functional, was cold, hard metal – impossible to use in any weather.

There were no signs of soldiers on the court, on the swings, or in the roads. It was more than either of them could have dared to hope for. "Nope, all clear," he said.

"Hey, not so loud!" She covered his mouth with her hand and attempted to pull him back, but he was so small that she didn't really get very far. "Someone could hear us!"

"Mmmf," he said through her hand. When she pulled it away he kept talking again, but in a lower tone. "Well, yeah, even an idiot could hear that. But I wasn't being-"

"Yes you were! Wait, 'hear'?"

"If you're seeing something, it's "seeing", Tamiya, but you're saying something it doesn't really make sense to say that only an idiot could "see" that!"

"Does it even matter?" Tamiya stood, brushed the dirt off her oversized hoodie, and readjusted her hairband. "Let's do like last time. We'll wait here for ten minutes, and if no one goes by we'll go on to the next one."

He sat back on the dirt, not caring nearly as much as his companion that it was staining his jeans. "But what if they just catch up to us?"

"They're not as slow as you, Nicolas."

"Hey, I'm not slow, my legs are just short."

"They're longer than mine, what does that tell you?"

"Well, you're just-" The memory of what had happened the last time he'd called Tamiya a "little girl" stopped him from speaking. (Though she was still little, even after all this time – he wasn't technically wrong, so he didn't see what the problem was.) "Anyway, if they're not a shoulder, why should anyone care?"

"I overheard some people in the shelter talking. They just started offering _rewards_ for runaways_._" Tamiya took her backpack off her back, set it on the ground, and sat on it. "It's ridiculous."

"Yeah, it just makes things harder."

"They can't fight the monsters out there, so they're trying to-oh, come _on!_" she hissed. At the sound of the word "monsters", Nicolas had hunched over, shivering.

"Do you think they're still out there?" he stammered. "Crawling…everywhere…"

"Yes, yes they are," she said angrily. "But…even if we can't go back to our real homes… anywhere's better than _there_." Both their faces clouded over. "39's new, it's not as crowded… you better have been right about seeing Herb around there."

"Herb's my best friend," Nicolas said. "I could spot him a mile away."

"You haven't seen him in months." Even as she said this, she slipped her hand into her pocket and closed her hand around _that_ photo – or rather, where _that_ photo had been before her roommates had stolen and ripped it. "How do you kno-someone's coming!"

She turned around and stuck her head back in the bush. Nicolas followed suit, whispering "who is it?" over and over, but she did her best to block it out. There were other sounds coming. Voices.

She couldn't understand what they were saying at first, but then, just as the people came into view, she could – because they were speaking French, with no military personnel in sight. She gasped, and listened as intently as she could.

"Well, 8 is next," a man's voice said. "And that's only…oh, it's…six blocks away."

"Six blocks?" a shrill girl's voice cut in. "Not again. I can't move my legs anymore."

"You sure talked up a big game if you're getting tired now." From her small vantage point, Tamiya saw the man sit down on the one working swing. But he wasn't a man, he was a boy slightly older than her – she could see the vague outline of his face, his dilapidated sweater and jeans, and the shaggy blue mop of hair on his head.

"Are you serious, or are you just trying to talk down to me?" the girl said. "If you still have your strength, then maybe you should give me a seat on the swing." She sat down in the wood chips as she said this, hugging her legs. She had long, black hair, but Tamiya could not see her face.

"Okay, okay, that went a bit too far. Maybe I'm tired too. Maybe." The boy laughed, then, with a smile, got up. "Fine, here."

"Oh, I – didn't actually expect you to–" Despite her words, the girl sat on the swing. Something about her face unsettled Tamiya, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it…

"This is impossible," the girl went on. "No help, no luck…I don't even know why we're going so far."

"Didn't you agree to this before we left?"

"Everything was easy back then. I thought, after everything else…"

"Well, hey. We've come this far, haven't we? In my opinion, that means it was easy." The boy leaned against the bars of the swing. "I thought the bonds of friendship ran deep."

"You mean Nicolas?" Tamiya jumped at the name, but quickly told herself it was coincidence. "Hell, he's probably better off here, I don't know. And Tamiya…she's Milly's friend, not mine."

"Milly's still a member of this team."

"Oh, we're a team now? Then why is she way over there?"

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No."

_Milly_. If something had happened, Tamiya did not care. Nicolas, Tamiya, _Milly_… she stuck her head further into the bushes, desperately trying to get a closer look. The slide was in sight now, and sure enough, sure enough…

It was impossible. She'd seen the computer readouts, she was supposed to be countries away…but still, she recognized that red hair anywhere. "There's no way," she kept repeating to herself, "No way…"but nothing she said, no semblance of reality inside her mind could stop her from bouncing up and down, even as she kept saying, "There's no way, there's no way!"

"No way what?" Nicolas had not been looking or listening. "What's going on?"

"Look, look, look!" she whispered, pointing through the bushes. "Don't you see? It's _MILLY_! She's here!"

"But isn't Milly in Ireland-"

"Look!" Tamiya shoved Nicolas's head through. "Don't tell me that doesn't look like her."

Nicolas squinted. "Well, maybe, but-"

"And the face, I don't believe it…" A cruel thought entered her head. "If anyone hears them speaking French out here, they're goners. We have to-"

"What was that?" Tamiya hadn't realized just how loud she was speaking – the black-haired girl got up from the swing and stepped toward the bush with a quizzical look.

Her features became clearer as she stepped forward, all the way down to the freckles on her face, and all of a sudden Tamiya could connect the face with the voice – and instantly wished she hadn' couldn't be. It simply couldn't be. The universe couldn't give her such an amazing gift and then curse her with _this._

By her side, she could hear Nicolas gasp – and from there she knew it was over. "Tamiya," he said, with a new edge in his voice. "Tamiya, is that – that's _Sissi_!"

"I…"

"Then it must be Milly! Do you think they came here to look for us?"

"Nicolas, don't do anything rash-"

"SISSI! MILLY!" Tamiya tried to shush Nicolas, but it was too late. Sissi's expression went white, and before the boy behind her could ask what was going on, or Milly could finish standing, she ran for the bush and leant over the top, looking right at them.

Her clothes were shapeless and dirty, her hair was in knots, and she wasn't wearing a stitch of makeup, and Tamiya was overjoyed that that was the case. Even still, Nicolas looked at her as though all that didn't matter – and then leapt up and pulled her into a hug. "It's you!" he said over and over. "It's you!"

"N-Nicolas!" Sissi looked a strange mix between surprised and joyful. "It…you…I…" She blushed beet red. "I walked all over town looking for you, and you think you can just jump out of nowhere and-you-_idiot_-"

Sissi lost her composure – she laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes, and she swung Nicolas back and forth as he too laughed. Neither of them paid Tamiya any mind, which was quite the way Tamiya liked it, so instead she stood up and looked at the people that didn't infuriate her on sight.

She had a brief notion that the boy might be another Kadic student, but up close she didn't recognize him – though he did look _very_ handsome, she admitted to herself, even if he was making the grave mistake of actually smiling at anything Sissi was doing. But Milly…for a brief second Tamiya saw blank, raw anger on her best friend's face, but as soon as she looked up into her eyes, it vanished. She began breathing very heavily, and an enormous smile broke across her face.

"Milly…!" Tamiya ran out from behind the bush and grabbed Milly, clutching her against her chest. Milly didn't say anything, but hummed slightly. _She still can't talk_, Tamiya realized, but it didn't matter. "I missed you," she said. "I missed you so much. I thought I'd never see you again…"

Milly hummed again, and Tamiya felt tears coming out of her own eyes. "I was hoping someday you'd come," she went on. "Hoping, and praying…" She talked and talked, and remembered, in the back of her mind, the days when Milly did most of the talking.

Sissi, William, and Nicolas stood slightly behind them – partly because they didn't want to interrupt the reunion, and partly because Nicolas was talking their ears off. "And I didn't find out Tamiya was in the shelter for over a month! She didn't really want to talk to me at first, but eventually…"

"That's nice," Sissi said. "But why were you guys out here? We were looking at all the shelters…"

"Wait, you were looking for _me_?" Nicolas grinned. "Well, whoever thought you'd do that?"

"Don't even start." Sissi grinned, despite herself. She felt as though she were on autopilot – she could hardly believe that _Nicolas_, that dumb, brain-dead, wonderful friend of hers, was standing right in front of her. "I asked a question…"

"Oh, well, if you can believe it…" Nicolas leaned in, and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "We were going to meet up with Herb!"

Sissi's face went white again. "…Herb?!" she shouted loud enough to pull Tamiya out of her happy place. "What- but- he's not _here_!"

"Hey, not so loud!" Tamiya said, turning to face the rest. Nicolas didn't appear to be taking responsibility, so she felt she had to. "We don't have escorts, there's a curfew…_"_

She narrowed her eyes at Sissi, who looked more confused still. "Escorts, curfews. That's right." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "But where's Herb?"

_Did you have to go and blab?_ Tamiya thought. "He's at shelter 39," she whispered. "Or…we think he is. We didn't see him very well."

"Thirty-nine?" the boy said. "That's all the way across town. Were you going to walk there? That's intense."

"No big deal for me," Nicolas said. "Hey, who are you?"

"Name's William Dunbar. I'm just along for the ride. Nicolas, right?" He held out his hand, which Nicolas shook. "And Tamiya! Sissi's said…well, not much about you at all. But I remembered your names."

"Thank you," she said politely, but before she could say anything else, Nicolas interrupted her. "So what shelter are you guys from?"

"Uh, well, none of them," William said. "We're parked a few blocks back."

Tamiya raised an eyebrow. "_Parked_?"

"We kind of stole a military caravan," Sissi said, feeling proud of herself. "It's a long story."

Both Nicolas and Tamiya's jaws dropped. Nicolas immediately began asking questions – "Stole a caravan? What happened? Where'd you go? Are you in trouble?" – while Tamiya, much as she wanted those questions answered, forced herself to remain more sensible. "How long?" she said slowly.

"Well, here's the short version." William looked over at Sissi. "Are we grabbing this Herb guy?"

"Absolutely."

"Grabbing?" Tamiya said, but William ignored her question, and pointed in the direction of the road. "The short version is, you follow us, we get in the caravan, we grab Herb, and we explain everything on the way and don't get caught by any patrols."

"Makes sense to me!" Nicolas said, but Tamiya held a hand up. "Look," she said. "I have no way of knowing whether I can trust you-"

Tamiya wasn't sure what to say next, so it was perhaps fortunate that, at that moment, Milly gave her hand a light squeeze. She turned to face her, and found, to her surprise, that she was holding a pad of paper out to her, face-down. Feeling curious, Tamiya took the pad, flipped it over, and read the message that awaited her.

Sissi leaned slightly over to the side to try and see what the message said, but before she could get it into her sights, Tamiya flipped the pad over again, handed it back to Milly, and turned back to face them. "Okay," Tamiya said. "We'll go. For now."

* * *

The walk back to the caravan allowed only scattered explanations. Sissi spoke – largely to Nicolas – about the trials that had gotten her from Rouen, where she had seen him last, to Ireland, where she had stayed at a boarding school shelter and met William. This was about as far as they got, however – the streets were full of evening walkers, and they felt speaking French might be unwise.

The caravan was parked on a side street, empty but for the lights in the windows of the surrounding homes. Sissi wasn't quite sure how Tamiya reacted at the sight of it – in her eyes, she was keeping her expression quite neutral. "You really did steal a caravan. But…why?"

"Well…" Sissi couldn't help but smile, now that her time to brag had come. "Let's just say we're on a pretty important mission."

"Mission?" Tamiya turned to face her. "I don't know what you mean."

"Well…" Sissi walked to the door of the caravan, opened it, crawled through, and opened the cabin door as well. "Get in. There's someone you…need to meet."

"Who?" Nicolas looked highly confused, but he still hopped in and through the door to the hold. She didn't hear a second pair of feet coming through – but she did hear Nicolas yelling at the top of his lungs. She bit her lip, remembering what he was seeing.

"Go on," she could hear William say from the outside. "She didn't hurt him or anything. Unless she did."

Tamiya did not respond, but Sissi did hear her coming through. There was no yell this time – only a short silence. "That's impossible," she then heard. "Yumi isn't…why…why?"

Sissi didn't really know how to answer that. Thankfully, William had crawled in after Tamiya. He have Sissi a quick wink, then turned into the hold. "Quick answer, she's the key to stopping XANA. Where's Shelter 39?"

"Wait, wait, no, hold on," Tamiya yelled. "XANA? Is that-"

"Yes. Where's Shelter 39?"

After a few moments of stunned silence, Sissi moved aside as Nicolas climbed into the cabin. His expression was full of shock, almost hollow. "It's on the other side of town," he said.

"Great. Sissi, I'm going to need that seat."

Sissi moved over into one of the passenger seats, squished between Milly and Nicolas. William yelled back to Tamiya – "I'm starting the engine, get on a bench!" – before he floored the gas.

On the drive across town, William and Sissi took turns listening to Nicolas's directions and explaining everything that had happened. Their story was long, disorganized, and at points even contradicted itself, but it contained everything that Sissi felt vital – William's visions, the realizations about Ulrich and Yumi's actions on the night of the bear attack, the attack on Avenshire, and most importantly of all, Yumi's revival and instructions. It was this detail that surprised Nicolas and Tamiya most of all – Tamiya, in particular, refused to believe it until she got a nod from Milly.

But before they could get into how they planned to act on that information, they had arrived on the outskirts of the city, at another comp school, this one smaller and more derelict. It was rather more difficult to find parking, but in the end William just stopped the car in the middle of the road. "There's no one going by, and I'll only be like a minute," he said as he was unstrapping himself. "Sissi, Nicolas, you should come with me. Milly, Tamiya, you stay with Yumi and the car."

"Wait a minute," Tamiya said. "I don't understand what you're doing. Are you saying you're going to go _back to France_?"

"We did kind of forget that detail, didn't we?"

"If this is so important, why don't you just tell the military-"

Sissi turned back to Tamiya. "If you don't want to come, you can stay, but Milly's coming, so I don't know."

Tamiya trembled. "You're crazy. You're crazy and completely insane and if you've brainwashed Milly into this –"

"No, no we didn't-"

"You can talk it over with her while we're inside." William cocked his head towards the building. "Let's go."

They walked down the block, back towards the school. Nicolas was suspiciously quiet – Sissi suspected that he was still shocked at the sight of Yumi. Sissi tried to make small talk with either of them, commenting on the flowers in one or another yard, but while William accepted her comments, Nicolas was unmoved. Soon they arrived at the gate, which looked similar to the first one they'd seen, except that it was guarded by two men, both much taller than them and wearing thick, dark sunglasses.

William looked at them for a while, but when they did not initiate conversation, he just started talking. [Hello,] he said through the gate, [I'm looking for…]

"Herb Pichon."

[Herb Pichon.]

The two men looked at each other, but didn't say a word, though the one on the right shrugged. Eventually, one turned back. [You can see Herb Pichon. Please come with us.]

['Kay,] William nodded, and motioned for the others to follow. Sissi felt somewhat nervous; at first she thought it was just at the prospect of seeing Herb again, but as she looked up at the soldiers she realized that something had disconcerted her about them when they had turned. Had it been…

She sped up slightly, trying to get a good look at their eyes. Even if they were behind sunglasses, from the side…

She only got a second's horrifying glimpse before the man turned his head, but it was enough. She ran back to William, and nudged him. "We have to get out of here," she whispered.

"You're going to have to give me more detail than that, Sissi."

"It's their eyes…" The thought was frightening, but Sissi couldn't let herself lose her cool. "I think they're-"

William put a finger to his lips, then looked up at them. [It would…really be better if you called Herb out here,] William said. [We're kind of in a hurry.]

The men looked back with alarming speed. [Why?] the one on the right said.

[We just are,] William said.

The men looked at each other again. The one on the left nodded, and entered the door -

But not a moment after he left, the first made a grab for William. William tried to dodge, but the man's fist came down on his head; he crumpled to the ground, groaning. Nicolas looked shocked for a moment – it occurred to Sissi they hadn't explained XANA possessions too thoroughly – but he recovered quickly, and began kicking at the man's leg. "Hey, what was that for?"

The man turned on him, growling. Nicolas stood, rooted to the spot, apparently unable to comprehend what was occurring. They didn't have time for this. "NICOLAS, RUN!"

"But he's a-"

"RUN!"

Nicolas ran just as the man's fist came down where he had stood. This done, the man rounded on her. She could practically see his eyes flashing through his sunglasses…she needed to run, all of them did, but until the man came out with Herb…if he _ever _came out… the fist came, she dodged it…she could see William getting back on his feet, looking around for a suitable weapon and finding nothing –

"…SISSI?!"

Sissi whirled in shock at the sound of her name. Time appeared to slow down; she saw Herb in the doorway, still short, still covered in zits – and she saw the man, the same one as before, lift his sunglasses up, revealing brown eyes wide with shock. [Donny, the hell are you doing to those kids?]

While she was distracted, "Donny" brought his fist down. The world spun as she crashed to the ground, but still she braced herself for another blow – one that didn't come. After a few seconds, she looked up to see the other officer above her, with his arms in his fists. [Head inside, I'll take care of this!]

Sissi got up, nodded at the man who'd saved her life, and ran for the door. Herb was still standing there, frozen in shock – though at Sissi's sudden presence or the man's behavior, Sissi neither knew nor cared. But as she reached him, he did break into the biggest smile she'd ever seen. "Sissi – how is this – how are you –"

"Nice to see you too, Herb, but now we gotta go!" Sissi grabbed him by the arm and pulled him past the scuffle.

"Go?" Herb did run along with her, past the otherwise occupied guard, but his smile had changed to a scowl. "Wait, where are we going?"

"I'll explain on the way!" Sissi grinned. "Aren't you just happy to see me?"

"Of course, but if you're not going to explain-"

Before Herb could protest any further, they were at the caravan. Sissi shoved him in, then got in herself and climbed over him to be next to William.

"And that," Sissi said, turning to Nicolas, Tamiya, and Milly, who were hanging by the door to the hold with their jaws on the floor, "is why we didn't tell the military." She turned to William. "We need to get as far from any city as we possibly can."

"Last chance to get out," Tamiya said to Herb, but he didn't hear her over William's reply. "Roger that, Number One. Set coordinates for the Channel."

"Don't ever call me that again." As Sissi hit buttons and William rocketed onto the road, Herb looked rapidly around him, taking everything in in a matter of seconds. "Wait, what channel are you talking about? Who's that guy? What's going on? If no one's going to treat me with respect-" He did a double-take at the hold door. "NICOLAS?"

"HERB! Herb, over here!" Nicolas leaned over the seat to give Herb a clap on the shoulder, and the two yelled and high-fived so noisily that Milly put her hands over her ears. Sissi smiled slightly, but didn't feel inclined to join until the two of them grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"The's gang's all back together now, huh?" Nicolas said. "You, me, and Sissi!"

"Uh…" Sissi felt as though she were about to choke, but somehow she didn't care. "Y-yeah. Gang's all back together."

"Yeah, that sure happened fast," Herb said. "We can celebrate in a minute, but now that we're not about to be killed…"

"Explanation, right." Sissi grinned. "Guess I'll repeat it for everyone else, too…"

* * *

- Carth


	17. Stratford-upon-Avon

And here I am again, folks! I'm still going.

This chapter is home to one of the few more major cuts I'm making to this story for the sake of time. I'll tell you what it is when we get there.

* * *

**Chapter 17  
Stratford-upon-Avon**

_Country road near Stratford-upon-Avon  
9:35 pm_

"But I still don't understand how that could've happened."

"For the last time, Herb," Sissi said, "Just because you happen to think it's impossible doesn't mean it didn't happen. I saw it, William saw it, Milly saw it, a hundred other people saw it."

"Yeah, and back in Rouen you told me that your father said she had massive brain damage." Herb leaned back against the seat, looking more smug than upset. "I'm not saying it didn't happen, I'm just saying _how_?"

Sissi threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know," she said. "I just…don't know."

"Chances are if we understood any more we'd be back in Ireland, wringing our hands." William squinted to see the road ahead in the dim headlights. There was no one there; they had seen only about a couple dozen other vehicles in the past hour. None were military, much to their relief. "Except-"

"Except for you?" Sissi turned away from Herb, grinning. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"Except we don't." William grinned right back. "But I bet I would've gone."

"And what makes you so special, huh?" Herb folded his arms and gave William a glare. "You're no better than any of us."

"Well, yes, you're right, I mean, there's just no way I'm better than you."

"If you're going to keep talking to me like that-"

"I don't really see what the big deal is, Herb," Nicolas said. "I don't think he's half bad a guy."

"He could be driving us to our deaths." Herb turned away from Nicolas and looked right at Sissi. "You did consider that, right? You gave this all _thought_, right?"

"Do you really think I didn't?" Sissi cocked an eyebrow at him. She didn't quite remember Herb being this difficult to deal with. "We're all in this together…aren't we?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think this is pretty exciting." Nicolas grinned. "We have all this stuff, and…what did Yumi say again?"

"'Get to the factory, go to Lyoko, and deactivate the tower.'" The tone of Sissi's voice dropped as she was speaking, as if she were sharing a secret. "And she said it was the factory near the school…but…"

"Half of that doesn't make any sense," Herb said. "It's built on a lot of guesswork, isn't it?"

"It's going to make sense when we get there. It has to." Sissi pulled her legs up to her waist. "Yumi…Yumi knew things we never did. She knew about…this…XANA…and I…always…"

The name felt surprisingly heavy on her tongue; she'd said it before, but never with this much thought. Yumi hadn't told William what XANA was – was it an organization? A person? Something else entirely? – but the gravitas of actually having a _name_ for all the horror she'd experienced was startling.

"Wait, no, Sissi, it's…not like I don't trust you." Herb blushed beet red, looking rather pathetic in Sissi's eyes, and extended his hand toward her. "I mean, I'm sure it does mean something-"

"No, Herb, you have a point." Sissi turned to find Tamiya standing in the open doorway to the hold. They could see Milly on a bench nearby, as well as Yumi, facing the wall as usual.

"I changed my mind," Herb said. "For all we know-"

"For all_ I_ know, you guys could have gotten killed." Tamiya folded her arms.

"Huh?" Nicolas started. "You mean back at the shelter? It was one guy! We were fine!"

"The other guy fought him off. You didn't. _He_ could do this instead of us."

"You could have stayed behind," Sissi said.

"I've tried." She looked back at Milly, who met her with a sad-eyed look.

There was a short silence, before Herb turned back to Sissi. "There's another thing I don't understand," he said. "This thing, XANA, can't travel over water. How did he possess people in Ireland and here?"

"At Avenshire, it was somehow connected to the electrical room, but here…" William put a hand to his chin. "No idea."

"The radio," Sissi said suddenly. "He had a radio transmitter in his ear-"

Sissi actually did want to finish her sentence, but at that moment William swerved the caravan sharply, and the force cemented her teeth together. He pulled off to the side of the road, turned the caravan off, and switched an overhead light on. He ignored the yells of his passengers and turned himself back to face the hold. "Milly, grab the knife. You know where it is."

Milly sat stock still for a moment, but when he repeated his request – "Milly, the knife!" – she got up, headed for a side compartment, pulled the knife out, and gave it to William. This done, he reached across Sissi's lap, wedged the knife into the radio console, and tore it out by its roots.

"Hey, I thought you said that was for food only!" Sissi yelled, but William didn't appear to hear. He took the two remaining wires, tied them together by their insulation, and handed the radio console to Tamiya, along with the knife. "The knife goes back in the open compartment, but the radio can go anywhere."

"Oh – o-okay!" Tamiya flashed a far-too-wide smile before carrying the equipment back. William turned back around in his seat, took a deep breath, and examined his handiwork, which amounted to an ugly, raw hole on the dashboard.

"Masterpiece," he said.

Nicolas snorted with laughter; Herb elbowed him, but he was laughing as well. Sissi did not make any attempt to hide her laughter. "Remember the beginning of the trip, when you wouldn't turn that thing off?"

"Don't even go there." William laughed along with her. "But really, though. It…you might've saved our lives, pointing that out."

"No, it…I…wow." Sissi smiled slightly, feeling slightly miffed that no one else was praising her. She looked up through the windshield, and found they had parked right in front of a road sign. "Stratford-upon-Avon…" she read aloud.

"What?" William tilted his head to see the sign. "Hey…I've seen a play here!"

"A…play?" Nicolas sounded confused.

"Shakespeare's hometown," William said. "It's…hey, what time_ is_ it?"

"You just tore the clock out," Sissi deadpanned.

"Anyone have a watch?"

Nicolas looked at his wrist and shook his head. "Well," William said, "If I had to take a guess it's half-past I don't feel like driving anymore."

"We'll stay in the town, then," Sissi said, wondering what exactly 'staying in the town' would entail.

"If we had any money that'd be perfect. But…" William took the one-pound coin that lay on the dash and tossed it to Sissi. "Point is, there's a river nearby. We can…yanno…" His voice was rather hesitatnt. "Make camp."

"Camp?" Herb sounded somewhere between surprised and mortified.

"Yep, that's what I said." William turned the key back in the ignition. "Actually kinda sounds like fun, when you think about it…"

"Not really, no," Herb said sharply, but he did not strictly refuse, or attempt to stop William from driving on.

* * *

Two miles down the road they found the river Avon. They then doubled back to get themselves out of a residential area, and ended up going all the way through Stratford-upon-Avon to try and find an abandoned stretch of land. They passed many neon signs for shops and restaurants along the way, which led Herb and Nicolas to talk loudly of what they would do there, if they had the money. Sissi didn't say a word, but she was thinking the same things they were.

Finally, they found a wooded area off a country road, and turned off into a farm field, which was frozen and barren this time of year. They parked the caravan when Nicolas could no longer see the road out the window – which, in the night, was probably not very far. Once the ignition had been turned off, it was decided that they needed food – and to make the food taste halfway decent they needed a fire.

Sissi was left to retrieve the other supplies – the lighter, the food cans, blankets, the survival knife – while everyone else went into the forest to get sticks. She did this easily, and by the time she was wheeling Yumi out she thought to herself that this did seem like fun, at least slightly. The others had made a small pile of kindling and dry leaves, along with some larger branches below, and William was clicking the lighter underneath. "You know," he said upon hearing her approach, "Movies make this look a lot easier than it actually is."

"Hear that, Nicolas?" Herb sat down on one of the blankets that Sissi had spread around the wood pile. "He thought this was going to be _easy._"

"That isn't what he said at all, Herb," Sissi said.

"He didn't have to." Herb patted the spot next to him. "Here, there's, uh, room for you here. Next to me. Over here."

"So there is." Sissi walked over and sat down next to him. There wasn't nearly as much room as he'd said; her hip brushed up against his. Nicolas sat on Herb's opposite side; he grabbed the survival knife before anyone else could get it and tried to open the MEAT can, but ended up just stabbing it over and over. Sissi rolled her eyes, grabbed the can and knife out of his hands, and began diligently slicing around the edges.

"Wow," Herb said right in her ear. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"Somewhere, same as anyone." Sissi placed the tin of MEAT next to the pile of sticks. William was still trying to directly set the wood on fire, but when he threw his arm back in disgust the flame caught the dry leaves, causing them to smolder.

His eyes went wide at the sight. "Success!" he yelled, sitting back and folding his arms triumphantly. "It actually was easy. Who would've known."

"Yeah, sure, that's what happened." Sissi chuckled to herself as she yanked the VEGGIE MIX open. Soon that and the POTATOES were also next to the fire, getting warm, and the PEACHES were passed around. Milly and Tamiya sat on another blanket, and William had one all to himself. The fourth side was occupied by Yumi's wheelchair.

It was uncomfortably quiet as people took their turns. Sissi could see William's fingers tapping against his leg – he was uncomfortable with the silence. "So," he said finally, looking at Sissi. "How's…everyone doing?"

Tamiya gave a small smile. Milly's expression remained unchanged. Nicolas gave William a thumbs-up, and Herb folded his arms. Sissi realized she was the only one that had planned to speak. "Well, I'm sitting on the ground in the middle of nowhere, but at least that's better than where I'll be tomorrow."

"You forgot the part where this was your idea."

"Was not."

"I don't think you can find a single part of this trip that wasn't your idea."

"I thought you just said it was Yumi's." Nicolas looked over at William.

"Does it even matter?" Sissi took a peach, and passed the can on to Nicolas in the hopes of shutting him up. "If it does…yes, Yumi said something. But I was the one that thought we could do it." She paused. "Can we, even…?"

"Hey, hey, what's all this about?" William held his hands up. "What did I say about doom and gloom?"

"Nothing."

"I'm saying it now, then. Let's look at this pragmatically, if you want. If there's something we don't have, then, well, what do you think we need?"

"A leader," Tamiya interrupted.

Sissi started at the words, but before she could talk, Herb did. "I agree. We're not going to beat XANA with passion alone. We need someone _experienced._" He looked over at Sissi.

"Wait, I-" Sissi spoke only to guarantee that she'd get a turn, but she found she didn't have her thoughts quite organized. "I-I don't think experience has anything to do with it. We'll get plenty of that. What we need…is someone who knows everyone's strengths and weakness and what they can do and how to apply them."

"So…a strategist." William picked up the MEAT can and held it up to his own lips before giving some to Yumi as well. "That doesn't sound too hard for anyone with a brain, though."

"If you think so, maybe…it should be you." Tamiya fidgeted with the VEGGIE MIX can. "I mean, you're the oldest-" Milly squeezed Tamiya's hand. "Okay, maybe that doesn't matter, but you know what you're talking about…and, you are in the driver's seat."

**YOU'RE THE BEST WE'VE GOT REALLY. **Milly's face displayed no emotion.

"Well, that's…" William grinned at them, and his fingers were tapping rapidly at his knee, but as soon as he turned his head, an odd look came over his face. "That's a compliment. But I think if we're going to have a leader, I think it should be Sissi."

"_Sissi?_" Milly, Tamiya, and Nicolas gave Sissi incredulous looks, while Herb just looked bewildered. Sissi herself scooted back on her blanket, blushing deep crimson.

"I know, ridiculous, right?" William said. "But hey. She knows more about you guys than I do, and if you want experience, well, she knows what she's up against and how to handle it. You saw what she can do, right, Milly?"

**TOO MUCH.**

"Hey – look – do we even need a leader?" Sissi held her hands up nervously. "I mean – everything you said is right, but – I don't know if everyone-"

"Why can't you both be leaders?" Nicolas said. "You kind of already are."

_Really?_ Sissi thought. She liked the finality of it – but she knew it wouldn't be enough to satisfy William. "I like the sound of that," she said. "Do you?"

"Fine." William sat back and picked up the POTATOES can. "So, co-leader," he said with a roguish smile. "What's next?"

"Well," she said. First, she'd have to smack William upside the head. "First, no offense, but we all smell like B.O., and there IS a river right there."

"We do?" Nicolas sniffed his armpit curiously. "I don't smell anything."

"Then you're riding in the back, because you clearly have a cold," Sissi said. "We should probably go in turns…"

"Groups might go faster," William suggested. "We don't want to get caught."

"G-groups?" Sissi blushed. "Then… what does everyone think?"

Nicolas and Herb gave them thumbs-up, but they both looked rather nervously at William. Tamiya, on the other hand, stood immediately. "Milly and I are going first," she announced. "What do we have?"

"There's soap. That's about it. It's inside."

"Gotcha. Come on, Milly." Milly nodded, and got up as well. The two of them headed for the caravan, disappeared inside for some time, and emerged with a bar of soap and walked off into the trees.

"Well, that takes care of that," Sissi said. She was kind of relieved she hadn't been invited with them – the fact that going along with a travelling group meant that eventually someone would get naked, but she didn't really want to confront that. "The guys can be next, and…"

"Then you and Yumi."

Sissi froze. "What?"

"W-we can't just ignore her," William said, looking down.

"But I can't – I-" Sissi looked over at Yumi. Her head was lolling over in her chair, and a line of spittle ran down her chin. "Fine. Whatever."

She expected at least one taunt, but the remaining boys seemed entirely too scared of the situation themselves to say anything. _And here we were saying we were going to take down XANA, _she thought.

* * *

Even though Milly was mute and Tamiya only opened her mouth to complain, somehow the conversation seemed stilted with them gone. Herb and Nicolas tried to draw her into an argument about soccer, but with hardly anything new in the world of professional soccer to discuss the two turned to soccer at Kadic, and she left the conversation before it could go down a path she didn't like. She tried to ask William whether he'd had any interesting dreams lately, but he made it clear that he didn't want to discuss that in front of the others.

Not long after that, Milly and Tamiya returned, dripping wet in their clothes, and sat on their blanket together. This was the boys' cue to go; they took the soap, said their goodbyes, and disappeared into the woods the same way the girls had come.

Milly picked her notepad up from next to where she sat, scrawled on it, and held it up to Tamiya. **I'M GOING TO BED** was all that Sissi could see before she took it down again. "Already?" Tamiya said, and Milly nodded in response. "Okay…well, I'm not really all that tired yet. I'll join you soon."

Milly nodded again. She walked over to the blanket William had sat on, picked it up, brushed some of the grass off, and carried it into the hold of the caravan. She did not emerge again.

It was silent around the campfire, apart from the light, even sounds of Yumi's breathing – she had fallen asleep in her chair. Many months ago Yumi's presence had disturbed her every waking moment, but now it wasn't uncommon for Sissi to forget she was there. She looked over at where Tamiya sat; she was looking at the fire with her arms folded, but only until she noticed that she had caught Sissi's attention. She looked up at her. "What are you looking at?" she said in a low voice.

"Nothing," Sissi said.

"It wasn't nothing," Tamiya said. "Liar."

"My eyes were just over there," Sissi said. "I wasn't looking at _you_."

Tamiya shook her head. "Wow. William said all that stuff about you, I can't even think of why, but did you notice he didn't talk about your shining personality?"

"What does that matter?"

"It matters to me." Tamiya's voice was dark. "Do you know how many nights I've stayed up, thinking about what I'd say if I ever saw you again?"

"Maybe I should make it easier, then," Sissi said. "I've done a lot of bad things and treated you _so _badly and I'm _such _a terrible person and you're _never _going to forgive me." She laughed. "Tell me something I don't know."

"You're mocking me." Tamiya turned to face her. "Alright, you want something new? Here you go. The teddy bear that attacked us? It was _hers. _I've seen it a thousand times."

"I know," Sissi said. Her voice was wooden.

"You…do?" Tamiya's eyes were wide. "Never mind. Point is, do you know what she said to me after the attack was over?"

Sissi didn't say anything, so Tamiya went on. "It was after, when we were all in the woods. She said, 'Tamiya, it was me. It was_ me_ who attacked them. I told him that if we were bigger, a lot bigger than them…a lot bigger than _her_…he must have listened, didn't he…he listened to me…and he went after them, after everyone…he got Ulrich…and he would've gotten Sissi, too, he was almost there…'" Tamiya shook as she remembered. "I tried to tell her it wasn't true, that it wasn't her fault…but she wouldn't listen. After a while she wouldn't respond. What I told you…it was the last thing I heard her say."

Tamiya's words had begun in anger, but now she just sounded sad. "Milly and I have been friends all our lives," she said softly. "Even when we were kids, she always did all the talking. But now…that she can't talk for herself…" The anger was building again. "No matter what you do, no matter where you take us, even if you save the whole world, you still hurt her. You, not XANA. _You._ And I can't follow anyone that hurts my friends."

Tamiya turned herself away from her. Sissi felt like her words were bouncing off of her – she didn't know how to absorb them. "You got it all wrong," she finally said. "Not what you said about before, but…I wasn't mocking you. Milly's told me the same thing before."

Tamiya didn't respond. "Everything you just said, she told me," Sissi went on. "I might hear it for the rest of my life. I told her I was weak and cowardly and foolish and it didn't fix anything. I made it seem like it was her fault for being mad when I'd saved her life. I tried to tell her to forget about it…but if you can't, then I can't. I can't…undo what I did, but…" The next idea in her head hurt more than anything else. "I'll never make the same mistake again. You and Milly…you're stronger than I'll ever be. I'm…I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Guh!" Sissi started – that voice definitely wasn't Tamiya's. She turned around to find William leaning over right in her face. "Hey! At least say you're back or something!"

"What? I did!" William straightened up, laughing and pushing a lock of sopping wet hair out of his eyes. Nicolas and Herb were close behind him, trying to stifle their laughter. "Just in my own way."

"Yeah, well, your way needs some improvement." Sissi stood up to be level with him, but found instead that her eyes were level with his chest. He was shirtless – all the boys were. Nicolas was a bit pudding-bodied and you could count Herb's ribs; she'd seen all that a dozen times. But William… she hadn't had the slightest inkling that he had muscle definition under his dorky school uniform.

"We could keep this up all night," William said, harshly reminding her that he had a mouth as well. "But it is your turn. Is Tamiya awake?"

Sissi looked over at Tamiya. She was lying down on the blanket. She still hadn't responded. "I dunno."

"Then who were you talking to?"

"Yumi," she said with a shudder. "Just saying I'm _sorry_ she doesn't get to see how much _fun _we're going to have."

"Fun, huh? Just don't have so much fun you don't come back."

"Hey, Dunbar! You're holding her up!" Herb yelled. He had to do so extra loudly, as he was not looking at them.

"Hey, Pichon! Don't yell!" William winked at Sissi, and tossed her the soap. "So, I'll see you back here later. We'll talk then."

_About what?_ Sissi thought, but that would have to wait. She already had the soap – she just had to do the deed. She walked over to Yumi's wheelchair, grabbed the handles, and wheeled her into the trees, trying her hardest not to look back.

It didn't take her long to find the river. It was nestled in the woods, with only a small, rocky bank between it and the trees. By the light of the moon it looked dark and ghostly, and she could see a light film on the surface from the soap the others had used.

Sissi parked Yumi just before the rocks and stood still for a moment, shivering. _I don't want to do this, I don't want to do this, _she thought over and over again. It was enough just having to look at Yumi. Why did she require so much _care_? Yumi was the _last_ person she wanted to see naked. She wondered if it was possible to bathe someone with her eyes closed. It was, at the very least, worth a shot.

She walked up behind Yumi's wheelchair. She thought back to what Yumi had once been. Strong, tough, hard-talking, more disdainful of her than of everyone else, but most of all independent. And now here she was, so weak she hardly had a presence, with no mind and no will of her own…

And she depended on Sissi for her care. It was the first thought she'd had about Yumi in a long time that didn't frighten her. She grabbed the hem of her shirt and closed her eyes.

* * *

"If we get out of this alive, I'm never doing any logistics ever again." William held the POTATOES can up to his mouth, set it down, and clapped his hands together. "Milly's in the caravan, right?"

"Mhm." Tamiya nodded, purposely averting her eyes from the boys.

"So she's got a blanket and pillow." William counted on his fingers. "We've got five blankets, four pillows, and seven people…"

"Yumi's got her chair," Nicolas piped in. "She won't really need anything."

"Maybe if she wasn't a human being." There was venom in William's words. "Point is, some of us are going to have to share-"

"I volunteer to not share," Herb said immediately.

"Hey, now that you said that, I can't say it," Nicolas said, elbowing Herb in the side and looking grouchy.

"That's not how it works."

"Yeah, sure," Herb said. "I bet you're just going to go ahead and give yourself your own bed."

"We'll _see_ how the math works out." William looked down at his fingers again. "Tamiya already told me she and Milly are sharing…Yumi can get her own…that leaves three blankets, two pillows, Nicolas, Herb, Sissi… okay, I think I got this. Nicolas, Herb, you each get your own blankets, but you'll have to share a pillow."

"Fine by me," Nicolas said, but Herb, who had been doing his own math on his fingers, had an enraged expression. "Wait a minute…that means that _you and Sissi….!_"

"That means that Sissi and I, as leaders, will take turns keeping watch, will you wait for me to finish?" William gritted his teeth. "I'll wait for her input, but…"

"But Yumi can stay in her chair and Sissi can get her own bed, as decided by an actual gentleman."

"_Or _we could wait for her input," William muttered.

"Are you actually trying to make me look like the bad guy?" Herb narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "You know this isn't something Sissi would decide. She hardly knows you."

"And you know her that much better." William laughed. "I guess you do. Used to be it was pretty easy to guess what Sissi was going to do. Now…well, now she just surprises me more and more. It's an improvement."

"What are you implying?"

"Just that, hey, maybe you've known her longer, but when's the last time you saw her? France? She's a different person now."

"Hardly," Tamiya said. William started at the sound of her voice. She had stood up, and was gathering one last serving of food. "I was talking to her earlier. She's just as spoiled and selfish as she ever was."

"I didn't say she wasn't," William said with a smile. "But maybe she's realized it by now."

"That doesn't fix anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Just…remember that not everyone is as forgiving as you are, William." She glared at Herb and Nicolas as she spoke. "I'm going to bed." She didn't give any further salutation as she entered the back door of the caravan.

They waited until the door was shut to speak again. "If she's talking about when I blocked her camera lens, that was months ago," Nicolas said to Herb. "Or did Sissi do something?"

"Like you said, it was months ago. Don't listen to anything she says." Herb turned his head away, then began mumbling to himself. "Different person. Heh, maybe that's good news. She used to_ like _stuck-up assholes, maybe she's changed her mind."

"Hey," Nicolas said far louder, "If she liked stuck-up assholes, what does that make us?"

"Nicolas-" Herb hissed, but it was too late. William left his seat, walked over to their blanket, and crouched in front of them, his hands around his knees. "Oh, okay, this makes everything a lot clearer," he said, a hard tone in his voice. "You're just going ahead and assuming I want to take her away from you, aren't you? Because, you know, there's just…so much chemistry here." He waved his arms for emphasis.

Herb was practically trembling in anger. "Well, if you _care_," he said, "then you _do _have feelings for her, don't you?"

"That's none of your business."

"If you didn't, you would've said no."

"If I did, I would've said yes. Rest assured, if I _did _feel anything for her, I wouldn't be shy about it." He pointed at Herb. "But what I do know is that if you keep letting this cockfighting get in the way of us getting anything done-"

"Who's doing what now?"

"Sissi-!" William nearly fell from his crouch, but managed to turn around and get in a sitting position. "Uh, hey. That was fast!"

"Well, when you don't have shampoo or conditioner, there's not much to do." Sissi rolled Yumi out of the woods, parked her wheelchair by the fire, and sat down next to the boys. Both of them were sopping wet.

"Well, it's not like we really need it," William said.

"But maybe if you'd put a little more thought into this, William, we'd have it," Herb said.

"You know what, he's right," Sissi said, looking indignant. "We could've stolen more in Dublin. Hell, we could steal now."

"You guys are forgetting we're on the run." William stood up. "Hey, so we had some sleeping arrangements in mind. As leaders we might want to keep watch, and we'd have to take turns in one of the blankets."

"Keep watch?" Sissi raised an eyebrow. "Stay up all night, you mean?"

"Well, not all night. We can take over for each other whenever we get tired."

"But…you need to drive."

"Then you can sleep in the car." William winked. "Deal?"

"Fine," Sissi said. "But you owe me-"

"Huh? Where am I?"

Sissi's eyes went wide, and she looked around. "Who said that-"

"YUMI!" Nicolas shouted.

"Yumi?!" Sissi and William whipped around, but it was too late – Sissi only saw Yumi's surprised expression for a split second before her head drooped. William ran to her side, lifted her head, and looked into her eyes, but they were just as dull and flat as they had been not a minute earlier.

"We just missed her." William swore, and stamped on the ground. "What's – what's even going on?"

"I don't know." Sissi stood as well. "But we might just have to watch her, too."

"Good plan." William took the blanket he had been sitting on and spread it over the remains of the fire, smothering it. "We should probably get on that …"

* * *

It was cold inside the caravan hold, but even colder outside. Milly and Tamiya were sleeping soundly, but Yumi lay awake, her cold eyes staring into space, while Nicolas and Herb argued softly over which of them was taking up more space on the pillow. For this, Sissi was thankful to have her own. She and William had played many games of rock paper scissors, but even after four out of seven he still ended up taking the first watch.

"Everything good in there?" William said. She could hear his voice through the crack in the door, coming in on the same breeze that was freezing her pillow.

"It's fine," Sissi said back. "This is…we were in Dublin this morning. In Dublin…" She allowed her mind to wander places she hadn't wanted it to go. "My father…he must've been horrified when he saw we were gone…"

"When we win, and he finds out where we are, he's going to be proud," William said. "Maybe. Doesn't really matter."

"Everyone will be." Sissi smiled. "We'll…be heroes."

"I've always wanted to be a hero. I didn't know you had that in mind too."

"Mmm." She felt more tired in that moment than she had in her entire life. "Goodnight, William."

"I'll wake you up when I start fading."

"You do that."

"Goodnight, Sissi."

"Goodnight." Sissi wasn't sure how long she had her eyes shut, or if she'd even slept at all, before she heard William speaking again, as if from far away. "Hey, Sissi, there's a deer looking at me."

"Huhn?" she grumbled. Her mind felt like a haze - did he just call her "_Sissi dear_"?

"A big, big deer. You GOTTA see the antlers on this guy. Oh, he's coming closer…deer don't attack, right…?"

_Oh. _"William, shut up…"

"Okay, he just kind of ate some grass and ran away, never mind…"

"Goodnight, William." Sleep came quickly and definitely that time.

* * *

Sissi woke with a start, shivering uncontrollably.

She pulled her blanket up over her head, only to find it wasn't a blanket – one of the soldier's uniforms was spread over her body, but it did the trick. This, as well as a dull pain in the back of her head where it had been lying against the metal door of the caravan, startled her somewhat. Hadn't she been lying inside, on a pillow, just moments earlier? Had she really been so tired she'd forgotten about switching places with William? She supposed that was the only explanation.

The air was cold and crisp, the sunlight was thin and clear, and she could hear the faint sound of the river flowing nearby. The clean set of clothes reminded her of how grimy her own were. She resolved to wash and change them before they left, but she didn't quite feel like moving yet.

She heard a faint sound from within the caravan, so she unlocked the door and opened it slowly. There were two people awake – Yumi, which didn't surprise her at all, and William, which did. He had been staring up at the ceiling, but turned his head when he heard the door move. "Hm," he said. "Time to change places?"

"You're awake," Sissi said.

"Astute observation," William replied. "I just…didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Is it morning?"

Sissi nodded. "I wonder what time," William went on. "Oh, uh, I had another dream, if that'd interest you."

"Well…" Sissi didn't know how much she was interested, to be honest with herself. "Not really, unless it has something important. I could care less about you making out with Yumi."

"Hey – did you even listen to a thing I said back at Avenshire?" William blushed crimson, and almost looked angry. "It doesn't go like that. No, it was weird. We had to take a bunch of final exams, and then there was at some kind of party in a gy-" He stopped short. "Well, I can't really remember what happened after that. Well, Odd Della Robbia and that other girl were there. That's it."

_A party in the gymnasium, huh?_ "I didn't dream about anything."

"Sometimes you don't." William sat up. "I haven't had a night without a dream in months. I wonder if XANA has something to do with it."

"Maybe if you were in any way special." Even as she said this, she didn't entirely believe it. She'd gotten used to William being around, and even found herself telling him things she thought didn't really want to say. She thought back to the night where she'd cried in his arms…then thought better of it. She looked over at the others, sleeping peacefully. "Should we…get going?"

"In a bit." William shuffled out of his blanket. "Saving the world is harder work than I imagined. I'll get the cans."

"Right." Sissi hopped off the baseboard of the caravan. "I'll get the fire going." _And then I'll go get changed_, she thought with a bit more excitement.

* * *

Milly and Tamiya woke up not long after she returned from the woods, followed by Herb a few moments later. Nicolas was the only one that needed to be prodded awake. They all stumbled out of the caravan to the sight of another roaring fire cooking the same food they'd had the previous night, and each of them gawked at the outfit Sissi was wearing. Even if it was kind of dumpy – it consisted of a brown-green camo suit that she'd tied around her waist because the top was too big for her, paired with a black undershirt and heavy boots – she relished the opportunity to be vain again. William said the outfit made her look mature; Sissi wasn't sure what to think of that.

Tamiya didn't seem quite as vindictive as she had been before; she was slightly more talkative at breakfast, if not to Sissi. Milly went as far as to laugh at a few of Tamiya's jokes, but was otherwise silent. Once everyone had gotten at least something to eat, William told the two of them about Yumi's reanimation.

"You're joking," was Tamiya's immediate response. "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Nicolas said before William could open his mouth. "She asked where she was and then she was gone again."

"If we knew what was causing her to come back, we could probably control it." Herb took a swig from a water jug. Given the larger number of passengers the water had been consolidated; one empty jug had been filled with river water, which was now boiling on a makeshift spit over the fire. "Was there a trigger or anything?"

"Not really," Sissi said. "It's always random."

"At least we know it still can happen. And that she's still _human_." William looked over at Herb, then stretched his arms over his head. "Anyway, we can't stay here forever. We should get to the Chunnel today."

"Chunnel?" Sissi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Channel Tunnel. It's pretty easy to figure out." William tapped his finger against his chin.

"And when we get there, then what?" Tamiya folded her arms, which were shaking slightly. "It has to be guarded."

"We'll…see what the situation is when we get there," Sissi said. "There's got to be a way across."

"We have to get there first, though," William said. "We could get back on the main road that runs right through London…"

"No," Sissi immediately said. "We're going around London. I'm never going back there."

William bit his lip. "I'd heard it was bad, but…is passing through just as dangerous? I haven't been since before October-"

"Where do we start?" Tamiya said. "It's full of people, people everywhere…"

"People get killed, people disappear…people are desperate." Sissi looked down at the MEAT can. "We have food, and people are starving…"

"Not just that, they're going crazy." Herb looked down at the ground, twitching slightly. "Were you guys there when the Servants of the Demon Eye got popular?"

Everyone looked confused except for William. "You mean those yahoos on TV? I thought they were just a fringe group."

"They were, back when you had TV. But there's more and more of them every day. They think the only way to avoid being killed by XANA is to surrender to it. Some people even _worship _it. They…attack caravans leaving the city…" Herb's head sank further into his lap. "We…were…"

Sissi's eyes went wide. She knew what was going through his mind - and immediately leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to say any more," she said. "We're going around it. And when we do…" She was surprised at her own words. "We're going to show them that XANA's not invincible. That you don't have to join him to beat him."

Herb didn't look up, but under her hand she felt him relax. She'd hardly even thought of what Herb and Nicolas had been through, or what they felt. But for the first time since she'd left Avenshire, she felt an odd feeling – a feeling as though she'd helped, that she'd truly changed something. She looked up from him to see the others looking back in surprise. Only William was smiling, but she knew what Nicolas, Tamiya, and Milly were thinking. "C'mon," she said. "Let's get to the tunnel."

* * *

_Folkestone, England  
Four hours later  
3 pm_

"17 bottles of beer on the wall, 17 bottles of beer, you take one down, pass it around, 16 bottles of beer on the wall…"

Sissi tried to remember the heroic, warm things she'd thought about the others, but given that this was the third time in a row Herb, Nicolas, and William had sung "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" it was getting more and more difficult. She supposed she should be happy that the boys were getting along – getting along better than anyone else in the god-forsaken caravan, as Milly and Tamiya were still in the back hating everyone else – but if she had to listen to this for another second she was going to burst.

"11 bottles of beer on the wall, 11 bottles of-"

"Bam! Crash! Bottles all broken. You're done." Sissi waved her arms in her friends' faces for emphasis.

"Hey!" Nicolas moved Sissi's arm out of his face. "It's not like we have anything else to do."

"If you don't think you do, then use your imagination for once."

"Not bad for someone that's been sitting there pouting for an hour," William said. "But if it makes you feel any better, I did just see a sign for the Chunnel in two miles."

"That…soon?" It was a shock to know they'd crossed all of Britain, even if it had been a harder trip than any of them had anticipated. Even as they avoided London, it had not occurred to them that, with its bursting overpopulation, it had grown outside its limits, even if it was only in the form of rusting shanty towns. They saw people in rags sitting, fighting, crying. They heard them scream in a dozen languages, at them and at each other.

They even saw the Servants of the Demon Eye; they stood out among the rest with their patchwork robes and their hands and faces tattooed with Eyes of XANA. They chanted at them in English as they passed. William refused to translate. Herb had begun shaking again.

_We can't help them now, _Sissi made herself think at the time. _Not here. But we can help them soon. We can bring them home. _They'd left this behind some time ago; for many miles they hadn't come across a single residence or any building at all.

"Moment of truth, then." Herb craned his neck to get a good look out the window, but for the moment he could only see trees.

Sissi heard some footsteps behind her – Milly and Tamiya had come into the cabin. "It's going to take a miracle for us to get through," Tamiya said.

"Hey, don't knock it before you-" William stopped mid-sentence. His eyes went wide, and he slammed on the brakes. "Jesus Christ," he said.

"Huh?" Sissi looked up and through the windshield. William had stopped at the top of a hill; spread out before them was the largest military base she'd ever seen, almost the size of a small town. Rows of antlike soldiers marched back and forth across its perimeter, and a large smashing sound could be heard even from the top of the hill. On the far side of this installation, barely the size of Sissi's finger from her view, stood what she suspected was the Channel Tunnel entrance.

She had passed through it several months before, when a shuttle car had taken the caravan she had been in from France to the UK, but as the caravan holds were windowless, she had not seen any of the Tunnel as she had passed through. She did, however, have a general idea of what tunnel entrances were supposed to look like, and something about this one looked very, very wrong.

"Look at it," Herb said in a very small voice, pointing at precisely what she was seeing. "The openings…they've been completely sealed off…"

And so they had been. Sissi couldn't quite tell what they were filled with – rocks, cement, all she could see were two large circles filled in with varying shades of grey flecks –but they were quite solidly blocked by whatever it was. There was no way she could see for them to get in, but she knew that wasn't the concern of the security detail. They were preventing something else, something much bigger and stranger than they could ever understand, from trying to get out.

* * *

Initially, I was going to have an extended sequence with them in London, to give you guys an idea of what the world has come to. But from the moment I came up with it I knew it bloated the story unnecessarily, so it's been booted.

I really hope you guys still like the story! I'm sorry it's taken so long to get to this point. As of now we are midway through Act 2.

- Carth


	18. The Channel

**Note: As of 8/16/13, this chapter has been revamped. I've filled a plot hole, changed some names, and generally shored up the grammar and style. If you read it before 8/16/13, I'd recommend giving it a reread!**

To my surprise everyone seems to really want to see the London stuff! I have been thinking of creating a set of GITM side stories, just to expand the universe a little. I think I'll do that.

But first I must finish this. Enjoy, friends, enjoy. I'm really grateful for all your reviews (thank you powdergame98 for your feedback on the Spanish – mostly I wanted it there to look cool, but if anyone thinks it should be changed let me know).

And for any of you that are Dangan Ronpa fans, look out for a fic about that in the near future!

* * *

**Chapter 18  
The Channel**

_Folkestone, England  
4 pm_

Sissi's vision blurred whenever she looked at the installation, but somehow she couldn't look away.

William had called her into the hold three times already, but she'd dismissed each call with a wave of her hand. Maybe the others thought that they'd seen all there was to see, but there had to be something . A weak point. Any kind of changing of the guard, or a pattern therein. Anything that could be used to…

"Sissi, are you coming or not?" Herb shouted.

"If it hasn't changed yet, it's not going to," Tamiya added curtly.

"Yes…yes, I'm coming." She turned from the window, walked into the hold, and sat down on a bench, somewhat removed from the others. They all held themselves much as she did, with their hands in their laps and their eyes downcast.

"Well?" William finally said, though he didn't look up. "Anything new?"

"Actually, yes. The walls crumbled to dust right before my eyes and – no." Sissi rolled her eyes. "It's the same. There's fences, guards, and who knows what else…"

"_Them_," Herb said. His knees were pressed up against his chest; it was a subconscious tell that, even in the short time Sissi had been reacquainted with her best friend, she had come to recognize. "Don't forget _them._"

"The monsters, you mean?" William said.

Herb glared at him, but he wasn't fazed. "If you're not afraid of the name, then you're not as afraid of what it names." He folded his arms. "What, didn't anyone read Harry Potter?"

"Maybe not for you," Herb hissed, "But maybe some of us have actually seen _them_ and what _they_ can do."

William bit his lip. The most prudent path might have been to apologize, but at the very least he did them all the courtesy of not pushing his view. "_They_ are probably waiting on the other side of the tunnel, so I'll see them soon enough. Which, of course, means we'll be fighting past them to get to France…"

"Question." Tamiya raised her hand, but didn't bother to have anyone call on her before continuing. "When was the first time you considered this? Was it now, or was it before you drove us unarmed to gloriously recapture France without any problems at all?"

"We're not really unarmed," Sissi interjected, banging a fist against the compartment she knew contained the assault rifles.

"And how long's that gonna last, huh?"

"Look, Tamiya," William said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it-"

"Yeah," Herb said, "except there is no bridge –"

"Well, what if there is?" Nicolas, much like Tamiya, raised his hand and talked without being called on. "If we could get on a boat across the channel, we wouldn't have to deal with this, would we?"

**THERE AREN'T ANY BOATS GOING TO FRANCE. **At the speed that Milly had been written, she would have had to begin when Nicolas had first mentioned the boat.

Just like her, Sissi felt inspired. "There might not be any boats going to France," she said, "But there might be some headed to other countries. Of course, who knows where we'll end up."

"Or how long it'll take us to get back." William tapped his fingers against his arm, then suddenly curled those fingers into a fist and pounded himself with it. "There has to be a weakness somewhere. We've come too far for this to happen."

"It's not going to be easy just because you want it to be." Sissi'd lost count of the number of times she'd said that to William. But even as she was saying it, the image of the opening that she'd burned into her retinas came into focus in her mind again. The blocked bores stared out of the cliff face like judgmental eyes, daring her to do the impossible. Surely the stones could be removed…but…but…

"Are there any other tunnels?" Nicolas interrupted her thoughts. "Extras for just in case, or something?"

William started at his words. "The service tunnel," he said – then hung his head again. "There's no way that isn't blocked too."

_But was it?_ Sissi didn't share her thoughts – she wasn't quite yet finished thinking them. There were two eyes, not three, so if there was a service tunnel it would have to be smaller, less conspicuous. She didn't exactly know what she was looking for in her memory, though. No place had looked more conspicuously guarded than the other…

"We should take another look," she said. "See if there's anything out of the ordinary."

"I volunteer Sissi to look," Tamiya said immediately.

"Are we really going to keep volunteering other people for things? And we're supposed to be the good guys." Despite his words, William made no move himself, but Sissi did think she saw a bit of a twinge on Tamiya's face. She didn't stay for anyone else to make a comment – she walked out of the hold and back into the cabin.

There were details in the true cliff face she hadn't quite memorized, but she didn't like to think she had to. There was nothing in the middle, nothing on the left, nothing on the – no, no, that wasn't true. She saw a small pair of yellow steel doors in the cliff face, so small compared to the main tunnels that she hadn't noticed them before. They were surrounded by two interior fences, each with barbed wire at the top, but there was nary a guard in sight.

"I found it," she called out, turning into the hold. "There's barbed wire around it, but it isn't blocked like the others."

"Woo! Go, Sissi!" Nicolas yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Herb smiled and William clapped, and even Milly and Tamiya gave her appreciative nods. "But," he went on, "how are we going to get it open?"

"Uh, I have no idea." Sissi grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"But we will, soon." William stood and began pacing. "If they've left the service tunnel unblocked, that means it was _designed _to be opened again. Probably in case of an emergency. Well, I'd call this an emergency, wouldn't you?"

"Well, yes, but not one the military knows about." Tamiya folded her arms. "We're never going to get in there."

"I've heard that so many times it's meaningless to me now," Sissi said, reveling in the opportunity to grin smugly at her. "William said it. There's a way to open them, and we're going to figure it out."

"And we only have your word to go on," Tamiya said.

"It probably won't be any harder than swiping someone's keys and we've done that already." William put his finger to his chin.

"That was different, William," Sissi said. "This…" Despite what she had said, it really seemed impossible in her mind. There was no way to steal anything without attracting someone's notice, no way to get in without being spotted. As she was mulling over the possibilities of stealth, however, the answer fell into her mind, fully formed.

"Guys," she said, her excitement rising, "I have a really, really,_ really_ dumb idea."

* * *

Sissi's dumb idea only took a sentence to explain. William and Nicolas grinned like all their dreams had come true at once, but Herb, Milly, and Tamiya had reacted in shock and horror. At their insistence they explored every other possibility available – theft, stealth, outright confessing themselves to the military – but in the end Sissi's plan was reluctantly determined the most likely to work.

Once the logistics were arranged, they agreed to execute the plan at ten o'clock sharp, as determined by the buzzing sounds the base made on the hour and half hour. Those extra six hours turned out to be just what the team needed. After lunch and power naps, awkward silences had eventually given way to aimless conversations, games of I Spy, Would You Rather, and Never Have I Ever, and talks about the universe that managed to shy away from deep emotional confessions. Tamiya even laughed at one of Sissi's jokes, an event which shocked them both.

When the buzzer signaled nine o'clock, they abandoned their games, had a brief dinner, and began to pack. William's bag, Nicolas and Tamiya's bags, and every available blanket and pillowcase were filled with as much food, water, and other necessities as they could reasonably carry. William pocketed the lighter, cigarette box, and [Best of Queen] tape as souvenirs. They ended up only able to carry two-thirds of their food supplies – enough for five days at their current rations – but it would have to suffice. All that remained after that was to bring Yumi to the front of the hold and strap her to the sides, perform a dry run, adjust the dry run to account for difficulties, and finally, wait silently in the cabin for the buzzers to go off again.

Sissi sat just inside the door of the hold, strapped to the wall along with everyone else, trembling in anticipation. When William peeked his head out of the cabin, she practically jumped. "So," he said, "assuming we do get in."

"That's a lot to assume," Herb said.

"Shut up, Herb." William shook his head. "I guess I should tell you now. Every good little British schoolboy knows that the Chunnel is fifty kilometers long. We're…going to have to walk all that distance." His face twisted into a scowl. "I hadn't even thought of that. I'd never even CONSIDERED how long that was."

"None of us did." Already Sissi's feet hurt – but somehow, she didn't feel as upset with it as she thought she would. Part of her wanted to scream, fight back, run – but another part, a stronger part, knew she had nowhere to run to, no way to refuse, and that she herself had closed off those routes.

"We can't do it," Herb said sharply. "We'll get caught, and then what will this all mean?"

Just as William was about to reply, a loud BZZZZZZ filled the air, followed by another, and then another. "Sorry, time's up," he said. "Everybody ready?"

"No."

"Perfect." On the sixth BZZZZZZZ, William started the caravan, hit the gas pedal, pulled out of the woods, and careened down the main road.

The remaining BZZZZZZZs echoed in the air as they went. The hold was silent; the same thing was on everyone's minds, Sissi knew, because it was on hers as well. The base was growing closer by the minute, and coming on faster as their speed increased. "90km/hr," "100 km/hr,"…William read out all the milestones. Soon the engine made a harsh grinding noise that they all desperately tried to ignore. William yelled that they were getting close, and she could see the fence in her mind, two meters high and entirely impenetrable and coming up fast – William was yelling, Tamiya was screaming, she heard herself scream –

CRASH. The gate tore clean off its hinges and clung to the front of the vehicle as they swung around. Alarms sounded immediately, but they pretended not to hear them. The entrance to the service tunnel was in sight – William wiped a bead of sweat off his brow and floored the vehicle again – Nicolas whooped, Herb screamed, Milly smiled, Yumi did nothing – the tunnel was zooming closer, closer – a man stepped in front of them in an attempt to impede their progress and was yanked away by a smarter member of his squad at the last second – Sissi heard gunfire from the outside but saw no sign that any bullets had entered the caravan – closer, closer –

CRASH, went the first gate, and CRASH, went the second, and then there were the metal doors – "COMING THROUGH!" William shouted, thenleapt out of the driver's seat, ran through the hold door, shut it, and held tight to Sissi –

**CRUNCH**. The hold gave a sickening lurch, and then all was still. Sissi opened one eye, and then the other. She could hear grunts and moans, and shouts from the outside, but no screams of pain – that was a pleasant surprise. Her knees ached slightly, and someone was – she turned to push William off of her, but he was already up.

"Okay, okay," he said, gesturing with his right hand, which was slashed across the palm and bleeding heavily. "Just like we did it before-"

"Yes, yes, we know, we know!" Sissi, Herb, Nicolas, Milly, and Tamiya unstrapped themselves from the wall harnesses, grabbed their packs, and headed back into the cabin. William stayed behind; he would be the last one through the ceiling hatch, and as such the one to take care of Yumi.

Milly and Tamiya were before Sissi in line, but when she had her chance to enter, she was surprised to see that the cabin was only slightly squashed. The doors, on the other hand, had crumpled, and a human-sized hole had opened between them – past three layers of metal gate, of course, which the ceiling hatch took them over.

The rest of the operation went about as smoothly as it had in the dry runs, which was to say almost not at all. Tamiya could hardly lift Milly, so Sissi had to step in and help them both, and then it turned out that Herb could hardly lift her, so she had to lift both him and Nicolas. At that point William finally came in to lift her, toting Yumi as he came, and hoisted her up by the waist, wincing in pain.

Sissi grabbed the sides of the hatch and pulled herself the rest of the way up. Her eyes were swimming, and she could hardly focus on the base around her, but she knew there was no time. She thrust her hands back down, pulled Yumi up, and handed her off to Nicolas, who carried her through the hole. Next was William, carrying his bag and the collapsed wheelchair, who came up with only minimal difficulty.

"They look kinda mad, don't they?" he said, sliding the escape hatch shut.

"I'm just kind of pretending they don't exist, if you don't mind." Sissi turned for the hole. "Let's go."

"Aye, cap'n." William jumped through the hole, and Sissi after him. It was a two meter drop to the bottom of the tunnel, as Sissi realized too late – she did fall on her feet, but crumpled immediately after. By the time she'd righted herself, the others had already run ahead. "Way to go, guys!" she yelled after them, but they didn't answer – everyone had other things on their minds.

She ran, with them, for what felt like ages. Her pack bounced against her back, but thanks to her adrenaline she hardly felt its weight. Every once in a while she looked back, but in the dark she wouldn't have been able to see anyone, even if they were there. She heard voices for quite some time, but they grew fainter and fainter as she ran farther ahead.

The tunnel itself was pitch dark most of the way, lit only every hundred meters with white lights, as helpful marking numbers on the walls let them know, and scattered with puddles. At about the third light she could make out that Tamiya and Milly were beginning to slow down. At about the fifth Nicolas and Herb fell back, and just before the sixth everyone was together again, shaking and panting.

"We're dead," Herb muttered, clutching his knobby knees. "We're dead, we're dead, we're dead."

"We're not, we're not," Sissi said, looking back over her shoulder again. "I…don't see anyone. No one's chasing us."

"Really?" Tamiya squinted her eyes backward. "Your plan _did _work, Sissi, but it didn't actually keep them out…did it?"

"I don't-" Sissi was suddenly cut off by a loud banging sound, like a hammer striking metal. Everyone jumped back slightly. Herb and Nicolas looked at each other with fright.

"A-are they trying to break down the door or something?" Nicolas stammered.

"That wouldn't make any sense," William said. "If we could get through, they-"

"They're not chasing us," Sissi realized aloud. She was glad no one could see the color draining from her face. "They're…they're re-sealing the tunnel."

Even in the dim light, Sissi could see the horror on their faces. Of course. Nobody on the other side knew what might lie ahead, so entering or opening the tunnel to save the lives of a bunch of suicidal teenagers was out of the question. So they were repairing the door. It was worth more than they were.

They were silent for some time, apart from a low whimper from Tamiya. Then, Herb spoke up, his voice twinged with raw anger. "So," he said, "Why are we saving these people again?"

Sissi felt the same feeling boiling up inside of her. "Well, right now it's because we don't really have a choice."

* * *

As they rested against the wall, they discussed their course of action. At fifty kilometers in length, they guessed that, at their regular walking rate, it might take them three days to cross the Chunnel, at sixteen kilometers per day. Of course, they didn't have any timepiece or view of the outside to mark the passage of time, so instead they would stop to sleep every sixteen kilometers.

With that done, there was really not much to do except unfold Yumi's wheelchair, strap Yumi in, grab their one Band-aid for William's hand, and walk. Now that they weren't in a hurry, the trek wasn't quite so grueling. The 1 KM marker even surprised her – if that was all, the rest would be a cinch. But after 2 KM and 3 KM her legs began to ache, and by 5 KM, one-tenth of the way there, she would have given anything to be driven back to Avenshire and pull the covers up over her head.

At 7 KM, they stopped to eat. No one talked very much. Nicolas proposed another round of 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall, which was immediately shot down by everyone else. There was silence again until Sissi found her feelings spilling out of her mouth. "I wish I could turn back," she said.

"Oh, so you took us all the way out here and now you're complaining?" Tamiya said. Herb scowled slightly. William said nothing.

It took her a long time to clarify that this didn't mean she regretted anything. The conversation did not continue.

The next leg was a bit more talkative, at least among Herb and Nicolas, who got into a spirited argument about American sports. They attempted to make Sissi side with one or the other of them, but she had no interest. William asked Sissi how she was holding up, and this began a small discussion about dreams and other small details of life. Tamiya and Milly hung to the back, holding hands and saying nothing.

At 9 KM Herb asked where exactly they were expected to use the bathroom. "Pick a puddle, any puddle," William said. Sissi said nothing and pressed ahead as far as she could.

At 16 KM, they found the most puddle-free bit of ground they could and spread out their blankets. This time they all took turns keeping watch. The number was positioned right under Sissi's head, and looking at it gave her a sense of accomplishment. Yumi thought she could do this, and she had. Suddenly, she didn't want to turn back so much anymore.

When everyone had slept as much as they could, the second day began. By 19 KM Sissi stopped looking at the walls – no matter how much higher the numbers got, they never got any closer to the end.

At 21 KM – of course she kept looking at the walls – William started making jokes. "We're gonna have thighs of steel after this, huh?" was his first, and when that went over he moved on to, "No really, think about it. We could basically just karate-kick _them _into submission." Finally, he caught on that no one was in the mood. "Look, it's almost over. We're going to make it. I know we can."

Sissi didn't see at first that he'd held out his hand to her. She recoiled slightly at first, but a twinge of longing for human touch led her hand into his. A tingle shot up her arm – it wasn't sweaty, like her father or a lot of other guys, but it _was _soft, warm, and strong. She just barely heard a few mutters from behind her. A kilometer later their hands were at their sides again.

29 KM. They were stopping for rests more frequently. When Sissi slumped against the wall, she saw Milly sitting next to her. Experimentally, she gave Milly a smile. Milly looked at her, but did not return the smile. Sissi wondered how she could find the strength to come this far, and what her motivations really are. She did not ask. Milly did not repeat the action when they stopped to rest again, two kilometers later.

36 KM. They slept and they woke. William said to Sissi, "So, when we go to Lyoko and deactivate the tower, what's the first thing you're going to do?" Sissi said she hasn't thought ahead that far. William said, "Hey, neither have I. So how about whoever thinks of something first, we both have to do it? Just a little friendly competition." Sissi remembered no details after that. She wondered, after, if she agreed.

* * *

45 KM. Nine-tenths of the way there.

"We're nine-tenths of the way there, guys," William announced, though Sissi hadn't planned to say anything.

"Seriously?!" Herb looked back at the wall. "Well…this is something I never thought I'd do."

"This is something I never thought you'd do, either." Tamiya laughed to herself.

"Oh, har har." It's quite a more good-natured response than Sissi would've expected from Herb. "Well, you know what they say. I'm full of surprises."

"You and not anyone else?" Sissi shot back with a smile.

"I don't even know what you're trying to say."

"Looks like you're out of surprises, then." Sissi chucked Herb on the shoulder. He smiled, exactly the opposite reaction as he should have. Nicolas, following her example, gave her a light push, and she pushed back, laughing.

"Well, somebody's having fun," William said without turning around.

"Oh, maybe." Sissi stepped a little faster, keeping pace with William. "Why, is that a crime?"

"A _crime?_ Never." William smiled broadly. "I might say it's uncharacteristic, but right now – wait. What the hell is that?"

"What the hell is what?"

"That." William pointed ahead to a point of light, which, as they walked, grew bigger than any of the pinprick marking lights they'd come across before. "Is that…that _can't_ be…"

"The exit?!" Tamiya pushed her way to the front, dragging Milly forward with her. "No way…but what else _can _it be?"

"I…I have no idea," Sissi said. The light didn't flicker, unlike the marking lights or laser blasts. "But the walls…that can't be right…"

"Well, who knows." William squinted ahead, and a grin worked its way onto his face. "But…you know what I do know?"

"Eh?"

"Last one there's a rotten egg!" William took off at high speed for the light. Nicolas was the only one that took off after him; the rest of them, not as fueled by raw testosterone, kept walking at their normal rates and caught up with them soon enough. They made a point of laughing and pointing at them when they did; Milly, especially, was doubled over in hysterics. Through the mirth Sissi thought she could hear a scuttling sound, but she passed it off as an echo, and ignored it.

As they got closer, about five hundred meters away, it became clear that they weren't at the end of the tunnel – it still extended into darkness ahead. The light they were seeing was from something entirely unprecedented – a large, jagged hole that took up almost the entire width of the left side wall. At their angle they couldn't see inside it.

"It's the end," Sissi started saying to herself when they were about a hundred meters from the hole. "It's the end, we're here, it's the end, it's the end…"

"I'd say we know, but you know what? I could stand to hear it again." William clapped Sissi on the shoulder, and she shoved him in return.

"Yes, hooray, it's great." Herb shoved his way to the front of the party. "No, really, it is, but use your brain for once, Dunbar." He pointed at the hole. "Who do you think made this hole, huh? And what if they're still here? What do you think you're going to do if they are?"

"Let me answer your question with one of my own. What do you think we've been carrying all this way?"

Herb craned his neck to look back at the assault rifle slung across his back. He hadn't been carrying it all the way; the rifles were so heavy that they'd taken turns. "The military had hundreds of these," he shot back. "It wasn't enough to stop them."

William's eyebrow trembled. "We're…going to be fine," he said hurriedly. "Well, no, I can't say that…we'll be fine until we can find shelter. Fine, but cautious." He looked into the hole. "I don't…see anything. But it's a pretty small field of vision."

"What is? Let me see!" Sissi pushed next to William and looked inside the hole. She saw a sliver of an empty grey-brown interior covered in scorch and scratch marks, with train tracks running through the middle. "I definitely don't see any of _them_…"

"Yeah, but the tunnel is huge. Someone should go in and make sure. But who…"

"Nose goes." Sissi touched her index finger to her nose.

"Wait, huh?" It took William a split second to figure out what was going on, but when he did he got his finger on his nose as fast as he could. Within another two seconds the only one left was Nicolas, who hadn't been listening. After a short argument ("Hey, no fair, you guys, I wasn't paying attention!" "Yeah, that's kind of the point,"), Nicolas stepped through the hole, grumbling all the while, and disappeared from view.

There was a few seconds' silence, broken only by Nicolas's footsteps. Then there was a loud "WHOA!", and then, "Nothing's here, guys! You gotta see this!"

"Didn't I tell you?" William shot Herb a look. "Coming!" He climbed through the hole, and echoed Nicolas's "WHOA!" once he was out of sight.

Herb rolled his eyes and offered Sissi a lift through the tunnel, which, much to her own surprise, she accepted. She fell about a foot, stumbled back to her feet, then walked over to where William and Nicolas stood, open-mouthed and staring, to see what they were seeing.

She touched her hand to her forehead to cut the glare. They were, by an eyeballed estimate, about a kilometer from the edge of the bore. The outside opening – the real one – was large enough to light up the entire area, which looked about the same throughout as it had through the hole. The train tracks ran a few meters from her feet, right through the half-destroyed wire-mesh fence that led to – to –

To gravel, and weeds, and high walls, and more train tracks and electrical wires. To Coquelles. To France.

She looked at every detail of the outside over and over again. Despite the miles she'd covered, the sight filled her with more energy than she knew what to do with. She could hear a faint buzzing in the back of her ears. Her hands and arms were shaking, her feet were bouncing up and down, up and down on her heels… She didn't quite know what to call the feeling, though she could swear she'd experienced something similar after the ferry across the Irish Sea. Happiness? Giddiness? Joy?

She was dimly aware that the others had arrived, pushing Yumi along in her wheelchair. William turned to talk to her, but before he could say three words – "We made it", to be precise – she yelped and hugged him right round the middle, knocking him back almost a foot. She could hear gasps and laughter all around her, but she didn't care. Soon he was hugging her back, and they swung round in a circle, joining in with the laughter together.

"Y-you were right," Herb stammered, dividing his attention between the outside and the spectacle going on next to him. "No monsters…nothing…"

"No monsters! Nothing!" Sissi broke free of William and ran for Herb, giving him the same kind of hug, though not quite for as long. When she pulled away, she could see that Herb looked shocked, but was smiling up a storm. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you for coming all his way with me. Thank you, everyone…"

"Uh…yeah, I, uh…" Herb retreated slightly from Sissi, and used his hands to disguise a massive blush. Nicolas, her equal in enthusiasm, was next, and even Yumi, Milly and Tamiya got hugs, though Tamiya squirmed and Milly stood still. When she pulled away from her, she felt weak and shaky all of a sudden; she fell to her knees, panting hard.

"I think she's lost it," Tamiya said. Her voice sounded very far away.

"No," Sissi said, panting heavily. Her energy was gone, but the buzzing noise was still there. "No, no, quite the opposite…"

She happened to look up when she spoke, and when she did, her expression froze.

_Them_. Hundreds of _them_ – no, thousands. Cockroach-class, the military had called this particular kind. They were crawling and swarming on the ceiling, gathered in a straight line down the middle. As Sissi watched, one of them swiveled its ugly, potato-like body to look at her. At least, if the Eye painted on its body was for seeing, but Sissi was beyond such thoughts.

"Guys…guys…" She pointed up to the ceiling, her finger shaking in fear. As everyone did so, however, another sound began – a rumbling, whirring sound, so loud that Sissi wasn't sure whether she was still talking or merely moving her lips. She knew the sound, she'd heard it a dozen times, she wanted to tell herself that was enough of a reason not to look, and yet she turned her head anyway.

A Warhead-class, the only one of _them _with enough firepower to blast through the wall of the bore, had just arrived behind them. As they watched, it sprouted its Eyes, opened its center cavity, and began gathering energy in preparation to fire.

* * *

Milly screamed long and loud. Tamiya followed her lead, but still had the presence of mind to pull her away from the Warhead-class's laser path. She could hear two more screams behind her, louder and shriller still – that had to be Nicolas and Herb. Behind this Sissi could hear William – "MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE!" – growing louder by the second, but she only had time to scramble to her knees before he pulled her away, holding her with one arm and pushing Yumi's wheelchair with the other.

The laser wall cut right where she had been standing, and the ground shook beneath her. William stumbled, let go of Sissi, and dropped his bag; he cursed, but didn't go back. Sissi ran up ahead of him to the rest, who had gathered near the opposite wall.

William arrived a second later. "Jesus Christ. Jesus _Christ._" He set Yumi aside, then spun to face Nicolas. "You said the tunnel was clear!"

"It looked clear!" Nicolas shot back. "How was I supposed to know it was there?"

"By looking, maybe?" William pointed at the Cockroach-class monsters above them. "This place is swarming with _them_…you'd have to be blind not to see any!"

"T-t-there's no use yelling, William…" Tamiya was holding Milly close to her chest. "It's over…we can't…"

"No…we…we have to…" Herb's eyes were fixed on the Warhead-class, his expression still and blank. With trembling hands, he pulled the rifle off his back and held it extended in front of him – entirely incorrect gun posture. "We…I…"

"Wait – Herb, _no!_" William moved to grab the gun from him, but it was too late – Herb fired before he could get close enough.

The recoil sent both him and the gun flying to the ground. The Warhead-class closed itself up, and the bullet hit its armor and ricocheted to the ceiling, knocking four Cockroach-class to the ground. One fell upside-down and was crushed on impact, but the other three braced themselves with their legs and began walking in their direction.

"Hey, why'd you shoot?! You said the guns didn't work!" Sissi thought of quite a bit more to yell at Herb, but as soon as she did it became clear to her that he wasn't able to listen – he was curled in a fetal position, shivering. So she turned back to William, who had picked up Herb's rifle. "Well, perfect," she said. "We can't kill it, and we can't stay here. We have to make a break for it-"

As if on cue, a loud buzz filled the air. Three more of _them _swooped down from above the bore's mouth – flying creatures with curved, elongated bodies. Hornet-class, Sissi knew, with stingers full of acid.

"Never mind," she said. "Well, we…I…no." She looked back into the tunnel , which seemed to stretch on into infinity, along with the line of Cockroach-class on the ceiling. "There…has to be something. I didn't come all this way to die here."

"I wouldn't jinx it." William held Herb's rifle up in a slightly less incorrect manner. "But I know we didn't go all this way to go down without a fight, at least."

"I just hope fighting works." She turned back to the others. Nicolas had helped a still-shaking Herb to his feet, while Milly and Tamiya had separated. "For now, we have to go. It'll make time until we figure out how to kill them."

"If we figure it out."

"That's not helpful, Tamiya."

"I didn't say we wouldn't." Tamiya smiled, then remembered herself and stopped.

"Sure, okay, we gotta move!" She waved her hand forward, then grabbed Yumi's wheelchair and pushed her ahead. Everyone followed behind – including the monsters. The buzzing of the hornets didn't grow any quieter, no matter how far they ran, and before they could make any plans –

_ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!_

She felt a blinding, blistering pain, then another, then another. She screamed and screamed, she couldn't stop - couldn't keep on her feet, she stumbled and fell, sending Yumi's wheelchair flying – there was still another, right on the small of her back – she could hear shouts around her, most of them her name – someone touched her leg, then moved away – pain, pain, pain was all she could comprehend. _I've been shot, _she thought finally, _I've been shot, I've been shot, I've been shot – _

More screaming, another laser blast from the Warhead-class, then gunfire, then William yelling – "Okay, it went in, why isn't it dead?" – another, shriller scream, a wordless scream of pain – "NICOLAS!" – then another, unholy, empty, and horribly familiar. She looked up to see Yumi leaning halfway out of her chair, smoke rising from her shoulder –

She panted heavily, unable to keep screaming. Tears were streaming down her face; it hurt, it hurt, it hurt. She couldn't see the wounds, could hardly move, there was a battle going on around her and she couldn't do anything…

There was a bag nearby – William's other pack, she recognized. It was half-open, and the contents had spilled all around her. Her hand closed around something, then opened again when she realized it was cutting into her skin. The survival knife…her fingers found the handle as the buzzing grew louder and louder.

She tilted her head to see one of the Hornets right above her. It hovered still for a moment before throwing back its tail, and in that moment she had a flash of clarity.

She threw the knife up at its head. It buried itself right in the middle of the creature's Eye, and after a second of struggle the Hornet exploded in a shower of sparks. The knife clattered to the ground next to her, and with a burst of energy she picked it up. She'd never seen a monster taken down so easily. Was it the knife? No, she'd seen people trying to fend them off with those before. No, it had to be…

"The Eye," she said to herself, then began shouting. "THE EYE! HIT THE EYE, IT'S A WEAK POINT!"

"Are you kidding me?!" she could hear Herb yell, followed by what sounded like a war whoop. Three gun blasts filled the air, followed by two explosions. Sissi tried to get to her feet, but couldn't put any weight on her leg without doubling the pain, so she merely pulled herself into a sitting position.

One Cockroach-class and another of the Hornet-class had been dispatched. William was dancing around the remaining Cockroach-class fire, and, as she watched, he hit one right in the eye with the rifle itself, and it exploded. The Warhead-class was rolling to and fro, distracted by Milly and Nicolas, who were running back and forth and supporting Herb between them. She turned her head to see the remaining Hornet-class, its stinger primed, making a beeline for the still-screaming Yumi – but then Tamiya jumped out from behind the wheelchair with a loud yell. Her first shot missed, but the second hit home, destroying the Hornet.

"Amazing," Sissi said to herself.

"Yeah…a bit." Tamiya let her smile stay this time. The gun was almost half as big as she was. "We're winning…we're really winning…!"

"Not yet…we've still got the Warhead-class…" Sissi braced herself against a fresh wave of pain, then looked back at the main fray.

William was smashing the final Cockroach-class with one hand and clutching a laser wound in his arm with the other. He looked back at Sissi, and gave her a thumbs-up. "None of the others seem to be dropping down. Maybe they're scared. Or stupid." He laughed. "One to go?"

"One to go." Sissi put a finger to her chin. "We have to kill it when it's open."

"Figures, right?" William looked back over at the distraction circle. "Okay, everyone! Over here! We need to make an easy target!"

The others stopped, then headed for where William stood. Nicolas was slowing them down, and clutching his chest as he went, but soon they'd all come to where Sissi sat. They all looked different, somehow, to Sissi – Herb looked shaky, but stable, Nicolas strong and confident, and Milly somehow taller, though that may just have been because Sissi was sitting down.

William beckoned to Tamiya, and she approached him just as the Warhead-class turned to face them. He whispered something to her, and she nodded rapidly. The false Eyes appeared on the sides of the warhead, and as soon as it began opening up, the two of them fired.

The bullets hit home at the same time, and after a second the Warhead-class exploded. The force rocked the tunnel and sent seven more Cockroach-class tumbling down. Two exploded on impact, and William and Tamiya rushed forward to crush the remaining ones. In a flash of inspiration, Sissi offered Herb the survival knife. "Go for it," she said.

Herb hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the handle and took off. When he was gone, Sissi twisted her head and looked down at her calf for the first time. The lasers had torn holes in her pants, and though them she could see patches of raw, red skin, already blistering. She felt a fresh wave of pain, and tears welled in the corners of her eyes again.

"They look kind of cool, don't they?" Nicolas said, extending her own wound for her to see. It was slightly larger – he must've gotten it from a Hornet-class. "Well, you can tell a good story with them, at least."

"I don't…want scars," Sissi said, turning her head away. "Scars are ugly."

"But that's the point." Nicolas clapped her on the back, right above her other wound. She winced.

"Nicolas, that's a terrible thing to say," William called back as he finished off the last Cockroach-class. He, Tamiya, and Herb walked back to the others, grins on their faces.

"It's okay, really." Sissi looked up at them. "That was…amazing. Everything you guys did."

"We really couldn't have done it if you hadn't found the weak point." William set his gun on the ground, and extended his hand to her. "Can you stand?"

"I can try…" She grabbed his hand and, trying not to put too much pressure on her injured leg, got to her feet. The accomplishment almost made it hurt a little less.

She couldn't walk very far, however, so the others spent the rest of the time gathering the supplies they'd dropped and looking for whatever first aid they might have brought, which turned out to be the one Band-Aid William had used, much to the disdain of the injured. They might find some salvage, they agreed, and the thought strengthened them.

Soon, they were all ready to go. Even Yumi had stopped screaming, and had fallen into a fitful sleep. Sissi's arm was slung around William's shoulder for support. In the back of her mind, she knew that, no matter how much she hurt now, whatever she might see outside could hurt her even more. But there was no turning back now. William started walking, and the rest followed them down the train tracks towards the exit.

* * *

She'd expected to see a wasteland. Something like the American West, or the Sahara, or any one of those brown brambly places she vaguely remembered from school, a lifetime ago.

But, even though she could see craters left by laser blasts and the occasional downed power line, the worst damage that had come to the_ commune _of Coquelles was human neglect, and that was even worse. The buildings were all still there, even still mostly intact along the street they were walking down. But the lawns and weeds had grown and infiltrated them, unswept leaves covered every surface, and new trees sprouted through cracks in the pavement. A feral dog, still wearing its old collar, growled at them from inside a collapsed home as they passed, but apart from that they saw no human or animal life.

The monsters didn't count. They could hear scuffling sounds inside all the buildings, saw clouds of Hornet-class buzzing overhead, and, as they entered the town, Herb claimed he could see a Crab-class on the horizon. Sissi hoped against hope that he was just seeing things.

And then there were the cars. The streets of the tiny commune were choked with vehicles of every shape and size, from minis to buses, all abandoned when (as William had seen on TV and none of the others had known about) the final wave of French refugees had rushed at the Chunnel on foot, spurred by an army of Warhead-class – easy to believe, as half the cars had been crushed, and the others acid-damaged. After dispatching two Cockroach-class that happened to be hiding under one of the wrecks, they split to search for any vehicles that were not only still whole, but might still have their keys with them.

A surprising number did – three, all told. One was acid-melted and entirely too small for them all anyway, one was a bus guaranteed to run out of gas before they could get anywhere, but, against all reason, Nicolas not only found the one minivan in the entire mess, but also its key. Once she got there from the other end of town, knifing a Cockroach-class on the way, Sissi learned that the vehicle was scorch-marked but usable, about big enough for them and all their stuff, if cozy, and had about a quarter tank of gas. William didn't want to leave without at least foraging for supplies, like medical items, weapons, or something to siphon gas, so they split up in pairs to find such items, leaving Yumi in the van.

Sissi stayed with William to forage in the cars, as she couldn't move very far. The minivan had been well stripped by its previous occupants. They found a car seat in the back, a fossilized Cheeto under the car seat, which Sissi took great delight in throwing at William's head, and some insurance papers in the glove compartment. Underneath those papers they found a French military leaflet, which, to their surprise, contained detailed descriptions of each monster, including the weak spot that Sissi had discovered.

"This doesn't make any sense at all," William said to her after he had finished reading. "If they knew about the weak spot, why couldn't they contain this?"

"Well, I don't know…" Sissi felt shaken at the news. She'd never seen any leaflet like this in her life, nor heard anyone talking about them. She wondered how recently it had been made. "But, during our escape, at least…there were thousands of monsters. And they weren't just Cockroach-class." She shuddered. "I don't even know if we could survive a Crab-class attack." She pointed at a paragraph that detailed how a Crab-class's stomach laser could punch through a tank.

"All this and then they gave up." William's brow furrowed. "Something isn't right at all."

But he didn't dwell on it, and neither did she – there were more pressing matters at hand. A search of nearby cars yielded a bit more, if an eclectic mix. Among their more interesting finds were a lead pipe, a broken 30" flat screen TV that someone had clearly tried to loot, two broken kitchen knives, a three-quarters full gas tank, some spoiled food, two CDs ([Best of Prince], ironically enough, and the Subsonics, much to their mutual delight), and 30 euros.

By the time they'd loaded the pipe, knives, gas, CDs, and money into the minivan, Nicolas and Herb had returned. Herb had an armful of gardening tools, and Nicolas had a whole bag full of bottles and bandages from a pharmacy – including burn cream, which he, Sissi, and William applied immediately. Sissi had almost forgotten what it felt like not to hurt.

Now with most of her functionality restored, Sissi wandered the town a bit more, under the pretext of finding Milly and Tamiya and bringing them back to the van. She'd never seen Coquelles before; she'd passed from Rouen to London without so much as seeing the outside. From the amount of green growing everywhere, even in hibernation for the winter, she supposed it must have been beautiful. She wondered, if she had had the opportunity to see, whether she would have cared, or whether she was still too angry to function at that point.

She found them at the grocery store, sensibly enough, pushing a shopping cart full of water jugs. All the canned goods were gone and all the others were spoiled, Tamiya told her as they walked back. "But the water was still here. I wonder why they didn't take it." They'd also found a book each, some extra clothing, and some pens and paper for Milly, who clutched them close to her chest. Sissi was surprised at how easily the conversation flowed. Maybe now that they'd been through that hardship, they really felt more like a team.

When they reached the van, the boys were just loading up the last of their find. They made a show of getting down on their hands and knees and thanking them for the clothes, which the girls rolled their eyes at. They sandwiched the waters and clothes into the backseat, and then, after taking one last look over the horizon, climbed into the van.

"There's a highway entrance up ahead." Herb leaned forward from the back and pointed at a sign by the end of the road. "There's got to be a road that leads to Paris…"

"I think you've about hit the nail on the head, buster." William smiled, then turned to Sissi. "Well, we're here. What do you think? All systems go?"

There were many things Sissi could have said to him, things like, "We're going to die, we're going to die," or "I don't even care anymore, I'm not moving out of this car again as long as I live." What ended up coming out of her mouth was, "Can I drive?"

* * *

I actually managed to consolidate what I thought would be three chapters into two. So this next chapter, coming up, will be the last of Act 2! Fitting indeed as the Summer of Act 2 draws to a close.

And as per request, here's a guide to the monster names:

Cockroach-class: Kankrelat  
Hornet-class: Hornet  
Warhead-class: Megatank  
Crab-class: Krabe  
Cube-class: Blok

More as they appear!

- Carth


	19. Bolougne-Billancourt

Hello again, everyone! If you haven't seen the last chapter in a while, I revamped it a few days after I posted it. You might want to give it another look – it's much better now!

And now the Summer of Act 2 has ended. And just in time, too – I go back to school in two days! So coming up is the School Year of Act 3. I'm going to aim for at least an update a month. It'll be killer.

* * *

**Chapter 19  
Bolougne-Billancourt**

_February 19  
Near Rouen, France  
6 pm_

The sun was hanging low in the sky. Or at least Sissi assumed it was – only a few rays of sunshine poked through the steady cloud cover. She liked seeing those rays – she always thought they looked quite angelic, even if their presence meant hair-destroying humidity.

Not that she'd had the chance to look in the mirror for over a week. Or take a bath since the river Avon. _We must all smell horrific_, she thought, _and look even worse. _There was a mirror above her she could easily flip down, but she didn't know whether she feared what she would see or simply didn't care.

A memory surfaced of her – downtrodden, scared, violent Sissi Delmas – attacking a nurse for refusing to let her take a shower. She felt a wave of embarrassment, then pushed the thoughts out of her mind and concentrated on the road again. She swerved sharply to avoid several wrecks, then back to avoid going over the edge of the overpass. Nicolas woke with a start, mumbled something about his mother, shivered, and fell back to sleep.

Seeing him, Sissi couldn't help but shiver herself. Once they'd gotten the minivan running, William had given her a not-so-brief crash course in driving. She'd had several false starts and wasn't always able to stay in her lane, but given that there were no longer any traffic laws to follow and she was quite good about not hitting anything, William graciously took the break. It was then they'd discovered that the heater wasn't working and the air outside was colder than cold. Everyone was spread out under the blankets, all asleep but for Yumi, who was sandwiched in the back next to Milly and Tamiya.

Sissi felt her own eyelids flutter, and the wounds in her leg begin to throb. The burn cream had worked wonders, but when it wore off… She tried to take a brief glance at William, but was sidetracked by two loud CRUNCH noises under her wheels. Cockroach-class, most likely – the highway was infested. There were Cube-class here and there as well, but she was usually able to outrun them. She counted herself lucky she hadn't run into a Crab-class, or another Warhead-class. If she had, she would've had to stop the car, wake everyone, and wage war…

There, now back to William. He had foregone a blanket, and wore two layers of sweats instead. He lay with his head against the window, drooling slightly. Sissi laughed, knowing he couldn't hear. For all his bravado, it was easy to forget that William was just a child. A mysterious one, to be sure – but one whose belief in her capabilities probably went beyond reason. _Come to think of it,_ she thought, _he may be the only one that does believe. _If Sissi had learned anything yet, it was how to be surprised.

She heard a soft grunt as she turned her swimming eyes back on the road, then a yawn and a stretch. "Where are we?" William slurred.

"Uh," Sissi said. "On the road, still. Somehow."

"Then you're doing fine." William pulled his arms close to his chest, then shook his head around. "Where in France, though?"

"We're…" Sissi craned her neck to look at a sign covered in dead and dying ivy. "20 kilometers to Rouen. 156 more to Paris."

"That close already?" William stretched again, and the more he stretched, the more energetic he appeared to become. "I must've been out a while."

"Not too long…" Sissi tried to stifle a yawn.

"Need me to take over?"

"I can make it…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" Sissi spoke slightly more angrily than she meant to.

"To Paris? Tonight?"

"Oh, well…" Sissi shook her head, and shivered, but not from the cold. "It'd be another two hours…"

"In the dark." William's face was grim. "Should we really be moving in the dark…?"

"Probably not. We'll be at the Seine soon, I'm sure…" The Seine. A river that flowed towards home. "You know," she was suddenly inspired to say, "Don't tell anyone I said this, but…I really wouldn't have been able to do this without you. Thank you."

"Sissi…" William looked startled, at first. Then a confident smile spread over his face. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you very much. You know, it's funny. As much as I like compliments, and as rare as they are from you…"

"Shut up."

"I've been meaning to say the same thing." He laughed to himself. "Who would've thought, just two dumb kids, thrown into the wrong circumstances…but really, we make quite a team."

There were two loud laser blasts in the distance. Sissi couldn't see from whence they come, but they unsettled her all the same. "T-team? Well, yes, I guess we make, we, we're good…in this…"

"Yeah, I didn't mean anything else at all…" William laughed. "Hey, exit coming up."

"Oh-" Sissi swerved onto the exit road. In front of her, the Seine shimmered like a ribbon under the overpass. "Thank you…I guess." She felt herself blush – why in heaven's name was she blushing?

"You're welcome." William looked away. "Say…do you ever think about them?"

"Who?"

"The kids from your school. Yumi, and her friends. Jeremie, Odd…Ulrich…"

"Ulrich…" Sissi felt a dull pang in her chest. "Well, yes, I do, but, I…" She tried to visualize him, and everything she ever liked about him – his eyes, his hair, his arms, the smile he never used when she was around – but the best she could manage was a dim outline of his body. "Not…like I used to. I think…"

More images, ones she'd buried so deep she didn't even know she had them anymore. Ulrich standing on a table. Ulrich running from the bear. Yumi hugging Ulrich instead of carrying him away. Emergency responders carrying a bloody body on a gurney. Her father – it hurt more to think of her father than of anything else – hugging her tight and telling her Ulrich was dead. "I think of what he means," she said. "Of what he did."

"You must think of him as very brave."

"He was." Sissi felt numb, but she didn't feel sad. "But even now…I don't understand why." She sighed. "The next time Yumi wakes up, I'm going to ask her. Because…she knew him better than I ever will. Even if he was still with us. And I'll ask about Jeremie and Odd, too. Maybe she knows where they are." She paused. "She didn't know Ulrich was dead."

"That would be something to hope for," William said. "If they're alive, they could help us even more. Maybe they're fighting, too."

"If they'd even want to help me." Sissi drove the minivan off the road and under the overpass, where she parked it. There were no monsters anywhere in sight; she wondered if, like the Channel, the water was keeping them away. "But, forget about that. We have to wake the kids."

* * *

Waking everyone else was a bit of an adventure. Tamiya woke with a tap on her shoulder, and Milly with some prodding from Tamiya, but the boys actively refused to budge until Sissi and William pulled them out of the car and splashed river water at them. They woke angry and motivated, and splashed them right back.

Thus began an impromptu splash fight that managed to get the worst of the dirt off them, though it did soak all their old clothes. Sissi got the surprise of her life when she aimed a volley at Nicolas, then realized once the water fell that she had, in fact, hit Milly – who then grinned and hit her right back. Then Tamiya came and hit her from the other side, and hit Milly, too, while she was distracted. Over time alliances broke down, and it became every person for themselves – though it was the first moment that Sissi felt that they were truly a group.

Eventually everyone was too tired to continue. They gave Yumi a quick dip, changed into fresh clothes, which were all either too big or too small, and began to set up camp. Half the group, in this case Milly, Sissi, and Nicolas, were sent to collect firewood, while the others set up the rest of the camp. They had to walk quite a way to find sticks just lying around, but when they found them, they carried armfuls back to camp.

William lit the fire more quickly this time, and once again they passed the PEACHES while they waited for the rest of the food to cook. Nicolas and William argued endlessly over who was the victor in the splash battle. Herb tried to join in, but couldn't help but look left and right for any monsters that might have been approaching. Milly and Tamiya sat quietly, reading their books.

And Sissi…she yawned and shifted her weight on her blanket, and a faint jingling reminded her that she still had her keys in her pocket. She was struck by a moment of inspiration – because everyone had been so tired, there had been no opportunity to play their new CDs. This wouldn't do, she thought. "Hey, guys," she said, and then, when she had their attention, "Watch this."

She walked back over to the car, turned it on, and inserted the Subsonics CD. There was a loud grinding sound – for a second Sissi feared that the CD player did not work – but then the familiar intro of "Planet Net" began to play. She turned up the volume, opened all the doors, and then exited the car with a smile on her face. "Well?" she said.

Everyone looked stunned at first, but their stares thawed quickly. "Well, uh," Tamiya said, "That was…unexpected!"

**I LIKE THIS SONG**, was all Milly had to offer.

"Hey, what do you think this is, a party?" Nicolas's tone was mocking, but his grin was wider than any other.

"Whatever it is, I'm down with it." William stood and stretched. "It's been WAY too long since I've heard these guys."

"I just thought it was something we needed," Sissi said, walking closer. "Just like Nicolas said…a party…" Memories flashed in her mind – the Prom, the beauty queen contest, the bear, Yumi, Ulrich – and she wondered if this were really the first time that evening she'd thought of them. "What? What are you staring at me for?" Her energy was getting away from her again. "Doesn't anyone want to dance?"

William's entire expression changed. "Well…this is a bit sudden, I think…" He tugged at his collar. "Alright, alright, full disclosure, I'm not really that great a dancer…"

"Really?" Sissi smirked. "Usually when guys say that it's just to cover up when they're scared."

"Psht," Herb said. "What kind of a dope would be scared of _dancing_?" He jumped up, walked over to Sissi, and grabbed her hand in his. It was thin and clammy, and she tried not to shiver. "I can dance with you, right?"

Sissi grinned and nodded at him, then looked over at William with what she hoped would come off as a plea for help. William smiled, then shot a glance at Herb. "Well, if it's just us, who cares, right? – wait, Herb, what's going on?"

Sissi looked over at Herb, and what she saw was a look that didn't belong on his face – sheer terror. "Crab-class," he said, raising a trembling finger at the beach beyond the overpass. "Over there…a Crab-class…"

Everyone turned their heads, and Sissi swore their jaws dropped in unison. She'd never actually seen a Crab-class in person, only heard about them in London, but they were even larger and more grotesque in the flesh, if they could be said to have flesh. When Herb saw it it had been over a hill, patrolling, but it spotted them around the same time they spotted it – and ran for them at top speed, priming its laser.

"EVERYONE IN THE VAN!" William and Sissi yelled at the same time. Sissi tossed the keys to William – there was no way she was going to be able to drive – and hung to the back to make sure that no one was falling behind. She had to physically pull Nicolas away from saving the food, and just as they were clear of the campfire the ground shook behind her. There it goes, she thought, though she didn't know whether it was bigger or smaller now.

Everyone piled into the van at a decent speed, and once Sissi got in William floored it without giving her a chance to close the door. "What's our plan?" he said as they rocketed under the overpass. "Do we even have a plan?"

"Can we live?" Tamiya shouted from the back.

"Brilliant plan," Sissi shouted back. She looked back at the Crab-class. Its weak point was enormous, but most people who had ever tried to harm a Crab-class had usually found themselves on the business end of its front laser, which, unlike the burns of the Cockroach-class, could tear through flesh and bone. That, and it was quite high up. Their rifles were strapped across the backs of the front seats, but…she turned to William. "How much ammo do we have?"

"I really don't have any way to check right now." William hit the gas pedal again.

"Right." Sissi turned to the back, where Herb and Nicolas sat. "Can you guys see how much ammo we have?"

"I could open this up," Herb said, "But I'm not sure I'll be able to close it again…"

"Ugh, we don't have time for this! Just- grab them!" She turned back. She didn't mean to yell at them – she only hoped they were just as stressed as she.

"Do you think we can hit it from here?" William looked up into his rearview mirror. "'Cause I don't."

"And we could have as little as one shot." Sissi put her hand on her chin. "The overpass. Get on the overpass!"

"Right, because it's not going to follow us," William said, though he turned the car sharply anyway. Milly yelped in the back.

"Of course it is," Sissi said. The Crab-class was indeed charging up the hill after them – but it was, at that point, at a lower position than they were. "Guys! NOW!"

"Eh?" For several slow, agonizing seconds, Herb and Nicolas fumbled with their weapons. Then Herb swung his out the window, shot too fast, and missed; he tried to shoot again, but only heard a clicking sound and swore. "IT'S FIRING!" he screamed.

William swerved to avoid the blast, sending them off the road and into the grass, and leading the shot that Nicolas had been taking way off course. He kept going, and the Crab kept coming, gaining speed. In the rearview mirror Sissi could see its underbelly laser opening and charging. "NICOLAS!" she screamed in terror.

"Ready…NOW!" Nicolas fired twice but only released one bullet, which buried itself in the very top of the Crab-class's EYE. For a moment nothing happened, and then the Crab swerved, fell, and exploded.

William slammed on the brakes. Once they came to a stop, they sat in stunned silence for quite some time. Sissi couldn't think of anything but the continued function of her brain and heart. They hadn't turned the music off – "Technoide" was just ending.

When "D'ici et Ailleurs" began, William began to chuckle. "Really?" he said. "Technoide was our battle music? _Really?_"

He laughed so hard he could no longer talk. Milly began to chuckle as well, and soon everyone was laughing, more at the shock than at the music. Sissi's didn't last particularly long. "Do you think it heard the music?" she said softly.

"I don't think they have ears," Herb optioned.

"And if you're looking for a way to pin this on yourself, you can forget it." William clapped her on the shoulder. "Maybe if we turn it down a little, can we still have that dance?"

Sissi was silent for a time, then smiled. "You're making it sound like it was your idea."

"It was mine first," Herb interrupted. Nicolas gave him a thumbs-up.

Sissi gritted her teeth, but nodded. William chuckled. "That's alright. Looks like Tamiya and I will just have to have the first dance." He turned his head back. "Right, Tamiya?"

"U-um…yeah, sure, I…" Tamiya buried her face in her hands, and Milly patted her on the head.

"Lovely." William turned back up, and hit the gas again. During the noise that this produced, he leaned over slightly. "I'm surprised you didn't say no," he whispered.

"Not to a friend." Sissi smiled and turned away. It wasn't until they were halfway back to the campsite that she realized he might have misinterpreted what she said – but she didn't know whether or not to correct herself.

* * *

It was quite a devastating loss. The campfire and three cans of food had been destroyed – Nicolas had only been able to save one. They managed to rebuild and open new ones, but Sissi was starting to get nervous about how few cans were left. She only hoped Paris hadn't been stripped clean.

After dinner, the promised dances began. Sissi didn't last too many – between the driving and the fighting, she was quite worn out. Thankfully neither Herb nor William was much of a chore to keep up after, though Herb did step on her toes several times and William, while less clumsy, had little to no rhythm. Still, it was enjoyable, and the others seemed to enjoy it just as much. It did seem to lead to some communication between Milly and Tamiya and Herb and Nicolas, two groups that, thus far, had stayed rather separate.

Eventually, however, more and more people joined her and Yumi on the sidelines, and it was eventually decided that bedtime was in order. Given the danger at hand, the car was parked under the overpass, and everyone claimed their own seats to sleep in. They all chose turns to take watch; Sissi got last, much to her delight, while Herb got first. After this everyone gathered their blankets and pillows.

Sissi was so tired, she was the very first to fall asleep. The sounds of the night slowly faded…

_And she was back in Dublin, back in the snow, sitting on Grafton Street next to a plaque honoring a folk hero she neither knew nor understood. Her father didn't know where she was, was more than likely in a panic, but she didn't care, not anymore. This was her spot. This was her purpose. Would he even know her if he passed by? Or was she a statue, something new and unrecognizable, just like the girl?_

"_Molly Malone's her name, sweetheart," the man sitting next to her said. "But you've got other things on your mind."_

"_I remember," Sissi said. "I remember her name. And I remember you. You said my potential was prophetic."_

"_And isn't it? Aren't you headed back to Bolougne-Billancourt right now? Back to the source?"_

"_I am." She felt as though she were in ten different places at once. Avenshire. Room 404. Playing with the Mermond girls. Avoiding the eyes of the Ishiyamas. Smiling at Luisa as she fed her son. Grafton Street. The caravan, clinging to her father. A van outside Rouen, with monsters all around. Kadic Academy. The gymnasium. "Why? Am I doing that wrong, too?"_

"_I'm not here to scare you," he said, pulling his hood down so she could see the flaking burns that crisscrossed his skull. "I'm only here to say I told you so, sweetheart. You don't belong anywhere near this statue anymore."_

_Sissi wanted to respond but couldn't. "Let me give you this advice, though," the man went on. "There are many different kinds of heroes, sweetheart. Those that fight with guns, and those that must come after to stop them." He laughed . "And which one are you, I wonder…"_

"…and what are you asking me this for?"

The sounds were back. Sissi sat up with a start, and shivered. She realized that her window was open a crack; she turned to close it, but saw Herb outside before she could. He was sitting on a rock, bathed in moonlight, with his back turned to her. _Why would he be talking to himself_? She wondered – but only for a moment.

"You're here. I'm ready. And I'm only saying what I want to." It was a familiar voice – but different. Raspy. And it was only then that Sissi saw Milly sitting next to Herb, and put two and two together. Her blood ran cold.

"Well…" Herb folded his arms, but didn't answer.

"Is it for Sissi?"

"I don't know. She's been making googly eyes at Dunbar this whole time…"

"Is it for yourself?"

"I didn't say it wasn't for Sissi!" Herb said angrily. "But…man. I've never wanted revenge on anyone as much as I've wanted revenge on _them._"

"I'm not doing this for anyone but me. Me and Tamiya." Milly paused. "I want revenge, too."

"On _them?_"

"On everyone. The whole entire world." Milly kicked her legs. "I want to show them what I can do."

"Then…what are you going to do?"

"I don't care what they do to anyone else," Milly said. "But I'm not going to let them hurt me. I'm going to get so big, and so strong, that they won't."

There was stunned silence for a moment, and then Herb stood up. "I…should get to bed," he said, but Milly did not respond. Sissi closed the window, then shut her eyes and turned away before Herb could see her, but she fidgeted fearfully for almost an hour before sleep came again. But, when it did the incident blurred in her mind, and she could hardly tell dream from reality.

* * *

The next time she woke up, it was bright, if overcast.

She felt confused, in many ways. Had she really seen Herb talk to Milly? Did what she said make as little sense to Herb as it did to her? And what about that other dream – she knew she'd had one, but what had even gone on? All she remembered was a statue. And that aside, had she slept through her watch? What time even was it?

She looked over to see if the key was in the car – it was not, and neither was William. She looked out the window, but didn't see him. Curious, she opened the car door – and was hit not only with a blast of cold, but also a series of loud coughing sounds. Confused, she exited the car and walked around to the back.

She found William bent double against the car, grabbing his chest and coughing up a lung. She was concerned, but mostly confused, until she looked down at the ground and saw the lighter, the cigarette pack that William had taken from the caravan, and the smoking remains of its one cigarette, lit but barely used.

It was at about that point that William noticed that Sissi was there. His eyes went wide as dinner plates, and he stumbled, coughing even harder.

"Seriously?" Sissi bent down, and extended her hand to him. "_Seriously, _William?"

"S-s-shut up." With Sissi's help, he was able to get to his feet. He was still coughing some, but now he was smiling. "Admit it. You were curious, too."

"Not anymore." Sissi laughed. She felt a momentary urge to tell him what she'd heard the previous night, but decided that that was nothing more than a sure way to stir up strife within the group. "You're a real fool," she said instead.

"You would know, wouldn't you?" He coughed again. Sissi felt an urge to pat him on the back, but decided that might just be too intimate. "So," he began again, righting himself. "Today's the day. The big one."

"Oh my god, you're right." In all the commotion, Sissi had hardly realized how close they were to Bolougne-Billancourt.

"What do you think we'll find there?" William folded his arms. "You'd know better than me."

"A factory. Lyoko." Sissi laughed. "Or nothing."

"I kind of hope it's the first one," William said. "What do you think they'd say, if they could see us now? Our parents…or the people from Avenshire…"

"I don't even want to think about what my father would do." Sissi frowned. "But I wonder if they'd think we're heroes."

"Not until we beat XANA. Then they will." He smiled at her. "Say…have you thought of what you want to do after this, yet?"

"Not really," Sissi said. "I've had other things on my mind."

"We'll get there," William said. "I believe in you. I mean, us…I mean…you…"

He stretched his arm out, but Sissi saw it too late, and he retreated. Sissi wondered if she was blushing. "Did you have an idea or not?"

"Well…nothing concrete. Just general things. Like going home. Sleeping in my own bed. Basking in my fame. Seeing my parents again." He laughed. "I just hope it's that easy."

"We won't know until we try." Sissi picked the lighter up. "I don't know what time it is. Should we get an early start?"

"If I have to be awake, so do they." William walked past her – and as he passed, he did pat her on the back, just as she hadn't. Sissi tried not to make any of it – she had other things on her mind. But somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that she _was _making something of it – but nothing anywhere near clear enough to decide whether it was something she wanted or not.

* * *

_February 20_

_8 AM_

They were thirty kilometers from Bolougne-Billancourt when they saw the first monsters none of them recognized.

There were three of them walking some distance away, and thankfully they didn't seem to have noticed the minivan. Sissi couldn't make heads or tails of their appearances – they had stubby brown bodies, some kind of white shell covering their heads, where their Eyes lay, and sinewy, elongated arms and legs with metal tips.

They were smaller than Crab-class but larger than humans, and William floored it the moment he saw them. There was a brief argument about what exactly they were until Nicolas, who hadn't seen the first herd, saw another and proclaimed them to be "some messed-up lookin' horses."

That was neither the first nor the last of the surprises. At twenty kilometers two of the Horse-class (as they'd taken to calling them) spotted and charged them, the lasers on the tips of their limbs blazing. They had no more ammo, and thus no way to get to their Eyes, but they managed to lose them by exiting and re-entering the highway, even if they did have to stamp on a few Cockroach-class on the way.

At five kilometers they were right on the edge of Paris's city limits, but there was no time to celebrate. The crowd of monsters around was growing thicker and thicker, and there were more Sissi didn't recognize – many creatures with tails, elongated legs, and lasers in their mouths, and wailing, manta-like monsters that patrolled the skies and expelled white, beaked balls over the roadway, where eventually they exploded. In the distance she could see something moving on long, spindly legs taller than a skyscraper, and then, out of the corner of her eye and entirely too close, something swift and silent that looked vaguely human and disappeared in an instant.

And they all attacked on sight.

Later, Sissi found that she could hardly remember the last five kilometers of the drive. She knew the lasers were coming. She could hear Tamiya's screams, could see Herb shoving a garden rake out the window to brush away Hornet-class, but none of it stuck in her mind – only the vague notion that she was putting her team through hell.

What she did remember were landmarks, or the absence thereof. Buildings, gone. Parks, demolished. The cemetery where the survivors of Kadic Academy had taken shelter, still standing. Parisian structure. Parisian streets. Home. Home and she couldn't even concentrate on it for all the monsters crawling in and out of its corpse.

And she knew William was doing his best to steer clear, to follow road signs, and yet they argued about directions – Sissi knew that an upcoming road was going to take them into Bolougne-Billancourt, and yet William insisted that it was going to take them downtown, and by the time Sissi won the argument they had to double back and find it again…

She remembered driving under two Crab-class. She remembered a bright blue light, and a rumbling that nearly knocked them off the road. She saw lasers bouncing off the glass and metal of the car, and then, inexplicably, one breaking through and striking her on the shoulder. Pain, screaming, and yet the car continued – she doubled over, she couldn't look out the window anymore – screaming, everyone was screaming – she'd done it, she'd killed them, why were they still going –

She heard four loud blasts close to her ears – "The tires, they got the tires, I can't control the car!" – they were spinning, spinning, they hit something and rolled and rolled…

And then it was silent. Too silent. Sissi felt a hand on her shoulder – a comforting feeling, at least until it hit her new laser wound and she shivered in pain. The hand moved away and across her back. "Sissi?" a faraway voice said.

"I'm here, I'm here," Sissi said – but why did she say that, in particular? "I'm here…"

"Uh, yeah, we all are." William, it was definitely William. "We're here."

Sissi nodded, but didn't take her head out of her hands. "Is she okay?" she could hear Nicolas say from what sounded like an ocean away. And then she heard Tamiya respond: "It doesn't matter…she has to see this."

"See what?" she said, though she was sure Tamiya couldn't hear her. "What's out there?"

"It's, well…" William laughed. "Whatever it is, it's not killing us."

Sissi hesitated, then lifted her head out of her lap. The windshield was smashed like a spiderweb, but she could still see what they wanted her to see.

_Them. _Hundreds, thousands, even more of _them_ than she'd seen in the Chunnel. Rows of Crab-class stood over rows of Cube-class, Cockroach-class, and Warhead-class, all standing at attention, lasers primed. Rows of Hornet-class and the Manta-class even flew in midair, their wings spinning and their tails bobbing.

But none of them moved, not an inch. Not even as a Block-class lay collapsed under the front wheels of their car – not dead, but simply doing nothing. And behind that Block-class stood a half-destroyed sign, proclaiming for every human in the vicinity to see that they had just entered "**OLOUGNE-BILLAN**".

* * *

**END OF ACT TWO: ROADS**

* * *

And there we are! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading all this as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

Because of the long time this all took and how confusing things might be, I'm going to write a recap of Acts One and Two. It'll explain everything in plain English, and it'll serve as a resource for me too! I'll put it on Ghosts in the Machine's TV Tropes page when I post the next chapter.

And an endnote: For those who don't know, the Subsonics/Subdigitals album is a real thing you can actually listen to, in both French and English. I haven't heard the whole English album but the French is pretty darn good! Listen to it if you have the chance.

Coming up, the final act. Buckle up, everyone.

- Carth


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